Setting the Stage
•    Navy and Houston meet on the gridiron for the seventh time overall and the sixth time as American Athletic Conference foes when they square off on CBS Sports Network on Saturday afternoon (3:30 pm) at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis. Saturday's game is presented by USAA and supported by Under Armour and UnitedHealth Group. Due to current Anne Arundel County and Maryland state rules, the only fans in attendance will be the Brigade of Midshipmen.
•    Houston leads the all-time series, 4-2, including a 3-2 mark in American Athletic Conference games. The Mids are 1-1 in games played in Annapolis.
•    Houston had undefeated BYU (5-0) on the ropes last Friday night, a team that beat Navy 55-3, before the Cougars rallied for three fourth-quarter touchdowns, including two in the final 3:06 of the game to win 43-26.
•    Since 2015, when Navy joined the American Athletic Conference, the Mids have compiled a 30-13 conference record which is the third-best mark in the league behind Temple (31-11) and Memphis (30-12).
•    Navy enters Saturday with a 3-0 record in the AAC and alone in first place. It's the first time Navy has started 3-0 in the league since 2017, when the Mids started 3-0 before losing four of their final-five conference games. Navy last started 4-0 in conference play in 2016. That team went on to post a 7-1 mark in the AAC and played Temple in the AAC Championship Game.
•    Navy started three different quarterbacks in its first three games of the season for the first time since 1992 - Jim Kubiak (Virginia), Brian Ellis (Boston College), Jason Van Matre (Rutgers). That 1992 team finished 1-10.
•    13th-year Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo earned his 100th-career victory when the Mids defeated Temple in Annapolis on Oct. 10. He is the 24th active coach with 100-career wins and just the sixth active coach to achieve it at one school. Please see page 14 of the notes for charts on where Niumatalolo stands nationally in wins among current coaches.
•    Navy's three wins this fall have been by a total of 9 points (defeated Tulane by 3, Temple by 2 and ECU by 4). It's the first time each of Navy's first three wins of the season were by 4 points or less since 1971 when Navy defeated Virginia 10-6, Duke 15-14 and Syracuse 17-14.  Those three games were the 1971 team's only wins of the season as it finished 3-8.
•    Navy is 42-27 (.609) in the Niumatalolo era in one-score games (8 points or less), including 3-0 in 2020. Forty-two percent of Navy's games in the Niumatalolo era (69 of 163) have been decided by one possession.
•    Navy has had 22 different players make their first career start this year which is the second most in the country.
•    Navy is 28-22 (.560) in the month of October during the Niumatalolo era.
•    Navy is 65-13 (.833) in the Niumatalolo era when the Mids score first, including 2-0 this year.
•    Navy is 84-5 (.944) in the Niumatalolo era when leading after three quarters, including 2-0 this year.
•    Navy is 72-25 (.742) in the Niumatalolo era when having a 100-yard rusher, including 3-0 this year.

Navy vs. Houston // Last Meeting
Nov. 30, 2019 // Houston, Texas // TDECU Stadium
•    (AP) Jamale Carothers rushed for career highs of 188 yards and five touchdowns, Malcolm Perry ran for 146 yards and a touchdown as No. 24 Navy beat Houston, 56-41, at TDECU Stadium. The win clinched a share of the AAC West Division title by the Midshipmen for the third time
•    Carothers scored on runs of 8, 17, 19, 29 and 75 yards, and CJ Williams and Tyreek King-El also rushed for touchdowns for Navy. The Midshipmen ran for 447 yards and outgained Houston, 554-527.
•    Perry, who also threw for 107 yards, set a school record with his ninth 100-yard rushing game this season and tied a school record with his eighth consecutive 100-yard rushing game. He also became just the fifth quarterback (sixth time overall) to rush for 1,000 yards and pass for 1,000 yards in a single season.
•    Houston's Clayton Tune threw for 393 yards, a career-high four touchdowns and four interceptions and rushed for 61 yards.
•    Marquez Stevenson had eight catches for 133 yards and two touchdowns and Tre'von Bradley caught three passes for 99 yards and a touchdown for Houston.
•    After Houston closed to 35-34 with 5:48 left in the third, Carothers upped the lead to eight with a 29-yard rushing touchdown with 2 minutes remaining and, after Kevin Brennan intercepted Tune's pass in the end zone, King-El capped an eight-play, 80-yard drive with a 21-yard touchdown run with 10 minutes left to increase the lead to 49-34.

Broadcast Coverage
•    CBS Sports Network will carry Saturday's game with John Sadak, Randy Cross and Sheehan Stanwick-Burch on the call.
•    The Navy Football Insider Show with Joe Miller will air on Thursday night from 7:00-8:00 pm on WBAL Radio (1090 AM, 101.5 FM). Pete Medhurst, Keith Mills and Scott Wykoff will contribute to the show.
•    The Navy Football Tailgate Show on WNAV Radio 1430 AM / 99.9 FM will air from 1:30-2:30 PM with Wylie Baker and Bill Lusby serving as the hosts.
•    The Navy Football Insider Show with Scott Wykoff will air on WBAL Radio on Saturday at 2:00 PM.
•    The Navy Football Pregame Show with Medhurst, Miller and Wykoff will get underway at 2:30 PM on the Navy Radio Network, followed by game action beginning at 3:30 PM with Medhurst and Miller on the call.
•    Following the contest, Medhurst, Miller and Wykoff will recap the day's events in a 30-minute postgame show.

Scouting Houston
•    Houston enters Saturday's game with a 1-1 record, including a 1-0 mark in the American Athletic Conference.  
•    The Cougars defeated Tulane 49-31 in the opener and lost to BYU 43-26 last Friday night.  
•    Quarterback Clayton Tune has completed 41 of his 64 pass attempts for 629 yards with 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. He has also rushed for 40 yards and 2 touchdowns.  He is fifth in passing yards per completion (15.34), 10th in total offense, 10th in passing yards per game (314.5), 12th in points responsible for per game (18.0), 16th in passing efficiency (161.0), 23rd in completions per game (20.50) and 25th in completion percentage (.641).
•    Tune's favorite targets have been standout wide receivers Keith Corbin (8 rec. for 104 yds) and the electric Marquez Stevenson (6 rec for 137 yds and a touchdown). Stevenson is seventh in the country in average yards per reception (22.83) and 17th in all-purpose yards (142.0). Additionally, he is fourth in kickoff return average (36.3) and has scored one touchdown off a kickoff return.
•    The Houston running game is led by Kyle Porter, who has rushed for 151 yards and a touchdown on 31 carries. Mulbah Carr, who missed the BYU game with an injury, is expected to be back for the Navy game. Carr ran for 2 touchdowns against Tulane.
•    The defense is ranked No. 4 in the country against the run, giving up just 74 yards per game. Grant Stuard and Donovan Mutin lead the way with 14 tackles each. Payton Turner is second in the country in sacks (1.50) and third in tackles for loss per game (3.0), while David Anenih is 15th  in sacks (1.00).
•    Kicker Dalton Witherspoon has made 2 of his 3 field goals, while punter Laine Wilkins is averaging 37.6 yards per punt.
•    Some statistical notes on Houston:
The offense is No. 3 in red zone offense (1.000), No. 8 in the country in passing yards per completion (15.34), No. 15 in passing offense (314.5), No. 15 in third down conversions (.483), No. 15 in team passing efficiency (156.12), No. 18 in points per game (37.5), No. 20 in total offense (457.0) and No. 20 in time of possession (32:42).
The defense is No. 1 in fourth down defense (.000), No. 4 in run defense (74.0), No. 4 in sacks per game (4.0), No. 6 in third down defense (.269) and No. 9 in tackles for a loss per game (9.0) and No. 21 in total defense (344.5)...
Houston is No. 2 in punt return defense (0.00), No. 3 in kickoff returns (36.25), No. 8 in punt returns (16.63).

This Date In Navy Football History
•    Navy is 9-7-3 all-time in games played on Oct. 24 and has won three in a row.  
•    Navy last played on Oct. 24 back in 2015 when it defeated Tulane 31-14. 

Smith Rushes for Career-High 157 yards, 2 Touchdowns as Navy Improves To 3-0 in AAC
•    Senior fullback Nelson Smith ran for a career-high 157 yards and 2 touchdowns and led Navy to a 27-23 victory over East Carolina at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium last Saturday. With the win, the Mids improved to 3-0 in the American Athletic Conference and sit alone in first place.
•     Smith bested his career high for the second-consecutive game after gaining 120 yards in a win over Temple last week. Junior fullback Jamale Carothers added 82 yards and another score for the Midshipmen. The two fullbacks accounted for 239 of Navy's 288 rushing yards and three of the four touchdowns.
• Rahjai Harris, who rushed for 115 yards the week before, had 172 yards and an 80-yard TD for the Pirates (1-3, 1-2). ECU freshman Mason Garcia made his first start in place of Holton Ahlers, who, along with a handful of other Pirates, had to sit following COVID-19 contract tracing.
• Navy quarterback Dalen Morris, who scored his first-career rushing touchdown in the first half, was knocked out of the game on a late hit with 10 minutes left in the third quarter.
• Tyger Goslin took over for Morris and shortly afterward Smith's 29-yard score gave Navy a 20-13 lead. The Midshipmen added their second fourth-down touchdown on Carothers' 3-yard TD on the final play of the third quarter, a drive that began at the 50 after Tobe Okafor dropped Garcia for a 5-yard loss on fourth down. Okafor, who made his first-career start, also blocked a first-half field-goal attempt by Jake Verity.
• On ECU's ensuing possession, Harris raced 80 yards for a score and Verity added his third field goal to close the gap to 27-23. But Navy ate up over six minutes on the clock and ECU could do nothing with its final 23 seconds.

AAC Notebook
•    The four intraconference games in The American in Week 7 were decided by a combined 10 points. Two of the four winning teams in conference play overcame double-digit deficits in the second half.
•    The week began with SMU's 37-34 overtime win against Tulane in New Orleans as the Mustangs became the first team in the nation to improve to 5-0 (they have since been joined by Clemson, BYU and Liberty). The game produced seven lead changes before SMU's Chris Naggar hit a 34-yard field goal in OT to win it in walk-off fashion. QB Shane Buechele threw for 384 yards and 2 touchdowns, while three SMU players had 100 receiving yards.
•    Navy remained atop the conference standings as the Mids improved to 3-0 in AAC play with a 27-23 win at East Carolina. The fullback tandem of Nelson Smith and Jamale Carothers combined for 253 of Navy's 318 total yards against the Pirates as Smith rushed for a career-high 157 yards and 2 touchdowns. Navy has won its three AAC games by a combined 9 points.
•    Memphis and UCF played what was unquestionably the most exciting game of Saturday's ledger as the Tigers ended a 13-game series slide against the Knights with a 50-49 win at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. The teams combined for an American-record 1,501 total yards and 1,087 passing yards as both quarterbacks turned in record-shattering performances.
•    Memphis QB Brady White threw for 486 yards and 6 touchdowns, adding a rushing TD to tie the conference record with 7 total touchdowns. UCF QB Dillon Gabriel became the first 600-yard passer in conference history as he threw for a school and league-record 601 yards with 5 TD passes and a rushing touchdown. Gabriel also set the conference mark with 650 yards of total offense.
•    The 21-point comeback marked  the largest come-from-behind win in Memphis' program history.
•    Temple fashioned a second-half comeback of its own as the Owls erased a 31-20 third-quarter deficit to rally for a 39-37 win against USF at Lincoln Financial Field. QB Anthony Russo threw 4 touchdown passes, but the decisive score came from DE Arnold Ebiketie, who found the end zone on an 11-yard fumble return in the fourth quarter to put the Owls on top for good.
•    The lone nonconference game of the weekend saw Houston let a 26-21 lead after three quarters get away as No. 13 BYU rallied for a 43-26 decision at TDECU Stadium. QB Clayton Tune was 21-of-31 for 310 yards and 2 touchdowns for Houston.
•    The Week 8 ledger is highlighted by a matchup of unbeaten top-25 teams as Cincinnati (3-0) visits SMU (5-0) Saturday in prime time on ESPN2. Navy will host Houston in a matchup of teams that are unbeaten in conference play. The week begins with Friday's ESPN prime time matchup between Tulsa and USF in Tampa.

The Incredible Story Of Jamale Carothers
•    Jamale Carothers was a revelation for the Mids at fullback in 2019 after moving there from slot back.
•     The 2016 Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year and Kentucky's Mr. Football his senior year started the year on the JV team and played against Jireh Prep in the junior varsity opener.
•     He saw his first real varsity action on Oct. 12 against Tulsa (played a few plays at the end of the Holy Cross game, but did not get a carry) and all he did over the last nine games was rush for 734 yards and 14 touchdowns on 111 carries (6.6 yds/carry) and catch four passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns (26.3 yds/catch).
•     Carothers averaged a touchdown every 7.2 touches and finished the year tied for 16th in the country in rushing touchdowns despite getting real playing time in just nine games.
•    Carothers averaged 6.6 yards per carry in 2019, which was the seventh-best rushing average in the FBS in 2019.
•    Carothers had his first big game of the 2020 season in Navy's miraculous 27-24 victory over Tulane, rushing for 127 yards on 25 carries.
•    Against Temple, he rushed for 53 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. A week later, he rushed for 82 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries in the win over East Carolina.
•    Carothers is the team's second-leading rusher this fall with 311 yards and 2 touchdowns on 75 carries (4.1 yds/carry).

Don't Forget About Nelson
•    Senior Nelson Smith is the thunder part of Navy's thunder and lightning fullback duo, but Smith is not all thunder as he showed in the last two contests.
•    Smith paced the Mids against Temple with a then career-high 120 yards rushing on 20 carries with touchdown runs of 26 and 22 yards.
•    Last week against ECU, Smith bettered his career rushing mark with 157 yards on the ground and 2 touchdowns on 17 carries. His touchdowns against the Pirates came on runs of 20 and 29 yards.
•     Navy's two fullbacks accounted for 239 of Navy's 288 rushing yards against East Carolina.
•    Smith became the first Navy fullback to rush for more than 100 yards in back-to-back games since Chris Swain did it in 2015. Additionally, his 157 yards rushing are the most by a Navy fullback since Jamale Carothers rushed for 188 yards last year against Houston.
•    Smith is averaging 6.22 yards per carry which is the nation's 19th-best rushing average. Meanwhile, his 6 rushing touchdowns are the eighth most in the country.