TAMPA, Fla., (Sept. 29, 2023) – Looking to build off of last week’s win, South Florida (2-2; 1-0 AAC) will travel to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, MD this Saturday to take on Navy (1-2; 0-1 AAC). Kickoff is slated for 3:30 PM EST on CBS.
The Bulls are coming off of a breakout game offensively against Rice, as redshirt freshman quarterback Byrum Brown racked up 517-total yards and three touchdowns. His performance was complimented by junior receiver Naiem Simmons, whose 272-yard explosion through the air helped South Florida pull away late. Bulls head coach Alex Golesh praised his quarterback this week after he struggled to find solid footing to start the season.
“For as many things as have gone bad, the way he’s responded has been incredibly positive. That takes mental toughness," said Golesh at his weekly press conference on Tuesday.
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NAVY OFFENSE
On offense, the Midshipmen are one of the few teams in the country at this level that still primarily utilize the triple option, an old-fashioned but highly effective power run scheme. This run-heavy style of play leads Navy to have one of the slowest paces in the country, averaging just 64 plays per game.
Navy has one of the most productive rushing attacks that the Bulls have faced so far this year, ranking tenth in the country by averaging 223-yards per game on the ground. The Midshipmen’s leading rusher, sophomore Alex Tecza, has 214 yards at this point in the year, most of those yards coming in Navy’s loss to Memphis in week three.
Junior fullback Daba Fofana and senior quarterback Tai Lavatai have added 145 and 130-yards rushing respectively, and other backs have rotated in and been successful as well. The Bulls defense has proven to be stingy in the run game this year however, giving up just 88 rushing yards per game which ranks No. 19 nationally.
Lavatai has 337-yards and two touchdowns throwing the ball, although he has not thrown the ball 20 times in a game yet this year, pointing to Navy’s heavy use of the run game. If the Bulls can shut down the run like they have in their first four games, it could be difficult for Navy to move the ball Saturday.
NAVY DEFENSE
The Navy defense is anchored by a pair of linebackers, senior Will Harbour who leads the team with 20 tackles and a forced fumble, and junior Colin Ramos, who has 17 tackles on the year. South Florida’s No. 24 ranked rushing offense will be tested again Saturday as the Midshipmen are allowing an average of only 155 ground yards per game.
This unit is disciplined and experienced, rarely giving up big plays or committing costly penalties. Golesh and his staff have made an effort to fix the Bulls’ issues with penalties this season, although they rank near the bottom in the country by almost averaging ten flags per game, while Navy averages just three.
After the Bulls found success airing the ball out last week, they will look to carry that success against a defense that is allowing 205 pass yards a game. Junior safety Rayuan Lane III has team's only 2 picks this year, and Navy will need to create more turnovers this week if they want to limit the amount of possessions the Bulls will have.
JACK’S SUMMARY
Coach Golesh talked this week about Navy being another unique challenge for South Florida as it will be his first conference road game as head coach.
"The scheme is unique offensively, it is unique defensively as well. Uber disciplined, uber tough, uber hard-nosed. Which means for us we gotta to be uber disciplined, uber tough, uber hard-nosed," said Golesh.
The key to victory for the Bulls on offense this week will be to continue to build on the success that was found throwing the ball last week against Rice. If they can continue to mix it up offensively and keep teams guessing, this will be an extremely hard unit to slow down, as they average the fourth most plays per game this season. On defense, the Bulls will need to double down on the run stopping ability they have shown to make the Midshipmen one dimensional.
My prediction is that South Florida will start fast and find ways to create turnover on Saturday, leading to a 27-14 win on the road.
