The conference independent Navy Midshipmen, who finished the regular season with a 9–2 record, accepted an invitation to play in the game on November 22, 2004.

Eight days later, the 7–4 New Mexico Lobos agreed to fill the open spot reserved for a Mountain West Conference team.

Leading up to the game, sports writers predicted that a major highlight of the contest would be the rushing offenses of Midshipmen head coach Paul Johnson and Lobos head coach Rocky Long; both teams ranked in the top rushing offenses in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).

The team accepted their invitation to play in the Emerald Bowl on November 22, two days after defeating the Rutgers Scarlet Knights with a score of 54–21 to earn an 8–2 record.

Although the defensive backs had set a team record for interceptions returned for touchdowns during the season,[16] analysts and fans criticized the squad for a 42–10 loss to the Tulane Green Wave.

Special teams play was a noted weakness for Navy; kicker Geoff Blumenfeld had missed seven of ten field goal attempts during the season, including three at distances shorter than 30 yards.

[14] The Midshipmen, who had recently completed rigorous midterm exams, were also mourning the death of former teammate J. P. Blecksmith, who had been killed at the Second Battle of Fallujah in the Iraq war in November.

[20] Despite New Mexico's closer proximity to the bowl site, Midshipmen fans comprised a large portion of the crowd; Navy directly sold 18,000 tickets prior to the game and was given credit for 22,000.

New Mexico then executed a 66-yard drive that comprised nearly seven minutes of game time, which ended when quarterback Kole McKamey threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Logan Hall.

On the following drive from the Lobos, running back DonTrell Moore tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) when Midshipmen cornerback Vaughn Kelley made a low tackle.

On the Midshipmen's next drive, running back Frank Divis executed a halfback option pass trick play to Polanco for 17 yards, the team's biggest gain of the first quarter.

[22] The Midshipmen began the second quarter with a two-play, 30-second drive that ended with a 61-yard touchdown pass from Polanco to receiver Corey Dryden, increasing the team's lead to 21–7.

The Lobos responded with a rushing touchdown from running back Rodney Ferguson, but kicker Wes Zunker's extra point attempt was no good, making the score 21–13.

Lane Jackson intercepted McKamey's pass on the Lobos final drive before half-time, ending the first half of the game with a score of 24–19 in favor of the Midshipmen.

The Lobos moved 48 yards over the course of eight plays and almost five minutes of game time, but the team committed a turnover on downs inches away from the goal line when running back D.D.

Needing three yards to achieve a fourth down conversion, Navy coach Paul Johnson called a time-out.

On the next play, Frank Divis threw his second halfback option pass of the day to Polanco, gaining six yards to keep the drive alive.

On the final play of the drive, Midshipman kicker Geoff Blumenfeld kicked a 22-yard field goal to make the score 34–19 with 2:07 left in the game.

[22][23] Though the Lobos gained more first downs and yards on offense than the Midshipmen, their three turnovers and Navy's extended drive in the third and fourth quarters led to the lopsided final score.

[23] At post-game press conferences, both coaches discussed the characteristics of the drive: I think that you have to give the defense on the other side some credit because they kept us out of the end zone and we had 26 plays.