Setting the Stage
•    Navy and USF meet on the gridiron for the fourth time, all as American Athletic Conference foes, when they square off on ESPNU on Saturday night (8:00 pm) at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. There will be limited, physically-distanced fan attendance allowed in the lower bowl of the stadium (approximately 10,000).
•    Navy leads the all-time series 2-1, with the home team winning all three games. Navy won last year's contest in Annapolis, 35-3.  
•    Since 2015, when Navy joined the American Athletic Conference, the Mids have compiled a 30-15 (.667) conference record which is the third-best mark in the league behind Memphis (32-13) and Temple (31-15).
•    Sophomore linebacker Tama Tuitele is tied as the nation's leader in forced fumbles with 3.  
•    Navy started three different quarterbacks in its first three games of the season for the first time since 1992. 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 active coaches.
•    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 165) have been decided by one possession.
•    Navy has had 23 different players make their first-career start this year which is tied with Army for the most in the country. Senior defensive end Jackson Perkins is the only player on the Navy defense to start all seven games this fall. The Mids have started four different nose guards and three different quarterbacks.
•    Navy has converted 14-consecutive fourth down opportunities.
•    Opposing kickers are an incredible 15-16 (.938) on field goals and 28-29 (.966) on extra points this year against the Mids. The only two misses were blocked by Navy -Tobe Okafor blocked a field goal vs. ECU and J'arius Warren blocked a PAT vs. SMU.
•    The National Football Foundation announced last week that senior cornerback Cameron Kinley is one of 12 finalists for the Campbell Trophy presented by Mazda. The Campbell Trophy, also known as the Academic Heisman, is college football's premier scholar-athlete award that annually recognizes an individual as the absolute best in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership. Kinley is also a tri-captain on the football team and is the President of the Naval Academy Class of 2021.

Broadcast Coverage
•    ESPNU will carry Saturday's game with Bill Roth and Rene Ingoglia 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 6:00-7:00 pm with Wylie Baker and Bill Lusby serving as the hosts.
•    The Navy Football Pregame Show with Medhurst, Miller, Mills and Wykoff will get underway at 7:00 pm on the Navy Radio Network, followed by game action beginning at 8:00 pm with Medhurst, Miller and Mills on the call.
•    Following the contest, Medhurst, Miller, Mills and Wykoff will recap the day's events in a 30-minute postgame show.

Scouting USF
•    USF enters Saturday's contest with a 1-7 record and an 0-6 mark in the AAC. USF's lone win was a 27-6 victory over The Citadel, while its losses have come against Notre Dame, Cincinnati, East Carolina, Temple, Tulsa, Memphis and Houston.
•    USF was down 13 key players in its game last Saturday at Houston.
•    When healthy, USF has proven it is an improved football team under first-year head coach Jeff Scott. The week prior to the Houston loss, the Bulls lost a heartbreaker at Memphis 34-33. Two weeks before the Memphis game, they lost at Temple 39-37.  
•    USF, like Navy, has started three different quarterbacks this year. Jordan McCloud has started 6 games, while Noah Johnson and Katravis Marsh have each started 1. Johnson started in the near upset of Memphis, but missed last week's game against Houston.  McCloud has completed 88 of his 148 pass attempts for 937 yards and 5 touchdown with 2 interceptions.
• USF's leading rusher is Johnny Ford, who has carried the ball 55 times for 285 yards and 3 touchdowns. Kelly Joiner has 252 rushing yards on 64 carries with 1 TD. Ford also ranks 20th nationaly in kickoff returns, averaging 24.7 yards per return. Both players missed the Houston game.
•    Bryce Miller is USF's leading receiver with 22 catches for 206 yards and 1 touchdown.
•    Defensively, the Bulls are led by Antonio Grier (50 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles) and Nick Roberts (39 tackles). Grier did not play last week against Houston. Daquan Evans has 3 picks, which stands as the fourth most in the country.
•    The USF defense has come up with 9 interceptions this year, which is the 11th most in the country, while its 2 defensive touchdowns ranks 12th. USF has forced 12 turnovers on the year, which ranks 22nd nationally.

Navy vs. USF // Last Meeting
Oct. 19, 2019 // Annapolis, Md. // NMC Memorial Stadium

•    (AP) The Navy defense backed another dominant performance on the ground by senior quarterback Malcolm Perry in a 35-3 victory over USF.
•    Perry finished with 188 yards on 22 carries with a pair of touchdowns. He surpassed more than 3,000 career yards rushing in his career, joining Keenan Reynolds, Napoleon McCallum and Chris McCoy as the only Navy players to accomplish that feat.
•    Junior linebacker Jacob Springer notched a career-high three sacks and freshman safety Chelen Garnes had an interception for Navy. The Midshipmen have 17 sacks on the year after finishing with 10 last season.
•    South Florida stacked the box with 11 defenders most of the game but Navy still managed to find seams and finished with a season-high 434 yards rushing.
•    Bulls redshirt freshman quarterback Jordan McCloud, who took over the starting job for the injured Blake Barnett (ankle), was 11 of 23 for 50 yards with an interception.
•    Perry opened the scoring with 67-yard touchdown run with 3:56 left in the first quarter. Navy had a couple of key stops and capitalized with a 58-yard rumble by fullback Jamale Carothers on the opening play of the second quarter that extended the lead to 14-0.
•    The Bulls could not capitalize on three forced turnovers (two interceptions and a fumble recovery).
•    Navy used some creativity to pull further away when slot back CJ Williams took the pitch from Perry and threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to OJ Davis for a three-score margin.
•    Bulls' cornerback KJ Sails gave them some life with an apparent pick-6, but the score was nullified because of an illegal block. South Florida had to settle for a 33-yard field goal by Spencer Shrader and trailed 21-3 at the break.
•    After a scoreless third quarter, Navy completed the rout on a 21-yard run by Perry and a 26-yard scamper by Tazh Maloy.

This Date In Navy Football History
•    Navy is 3-5 all-time in games played on Nov. 21, including a 44-21 AAC win over Tulsa in 2015.

Tulsa and Memphis games Postponed
• Navy was forced to postpone back-to-back games against Tulsa (Nov. 7) and Memphis (Nov. 14) due to positive COVID-19 cases at the Naval Academy and the ensuing quarantine of student-athletes.
• While Navy does not share open dates with Tulsa or Memphis, The American will consider a number of options with regard to rescheduling both contests.  
• The Mids have not played a game since Monday, Nov. 2 and have not had a regular practice since Thursday, Oct. 29.

America's Team
•    Navy's roster represents players from 27 different states.  
•    Maryland and California lead the way with 16, while Alabama and Texas have produced 15 each and Georgia has delivered 11.
•    The Mids have 9 players from the state of Florida including the following key contributors: sophomore safety Derek Atwaters (Pompano Beach), junior linebacker Diego Fagot (Ft. Lauderdale) and sophomore wide receiver Devin Mathews (Palm Coast).

AAC Notebook
•    The American Athletic Conference ranks as the highest-scoring NCAA FBS Conference in 2020, with the average team scoring 32.0 points per game.
•    Cincinnati and Tulsa have established themselves as the top contenders for the AAC Championship as those teams hold a two-game advantage in the loss column of the league standings through week 11 of the 2020 season.
• Cincinnati stayed true to form in its 55-17 win against East Carolina at Nippert Stadium on Friday. The Bearcats opened up a 35-10 halftime lead and held the Pirates to 87 passing yards and 293 total yards to improve to 7-0 overall, 5-0 in The American, and win their 19th-consecutive home game. QB Desmond Ridder accounted for 402 yards of total offense behind a season-high 327 passing yards with 3 touchdown throws to go wtih 75 rushing yards and a TD on the ground.
•     Tulsa remained unbeaten in conference play as the Golden Hurricane overcame a 21-point halftime deficit to rally past No. 19 SMU 28-24 at H.A. Chapman Stadium. Tulsa scored its second win against a top-25 opponent this season, marking the first time in program history Tulsa has two top-25 wins in the same season. QB Zach Smith threw for 325 yards and 3 touchdowns, including 2 fourth-quarter TDs to bring Tulsa back, while LB Zaven Collins delivered the clinching play with an interception on SMU's final possession.
•     UCF could make the conference race interesting as the Knights bring a 4-2 league mark into Saturday's game against Cincinnati in Orlando. The Knights won their third straight game with a 38-13 decision against Temple at the Bounce House as QB Dillon Gabriel and WR Marlon Williams connected on a pair of touchdown passes. Williams had 102 yards on 4 receptions, while WR Jaylon Robinson had 113 yards on 4 catches.
• Houston snapped a two-game slide as the Cougars were wire-to-wire winners against USF at TDECU Stadium. Houston reeled off 505 yards of offense, scored 14 points in each quarter and found the end zone on offense, defense and special teams. QB Clayton Tune had a hand in 5 touchdowns (3 passing , 2 rushing) and ran for 120 yards on 10 carries, while the Cougars also scored on a 72-yard punt return and an 85-yard fumble return.
• The lone nonconference game of the week saw Tulane pick up its first win against a top-25 opponent since 1984 as the Green Wave pulled away for a 38-12 victory against No. 25 Army at Yulman Stadium. Tulane clung to a 14-12 halftime lead, but outscored the Black Knights by a 24-0 margin in the final 30 minutes to win its third-consecutive game. QB Michael Pratt threw 2 touchdown passes to lead the offense, while Tulane forced 3 turnovers, including an 8-yard special teams touchdown by WR Jaetavian Toles.
• This week's schedule begins Thursday as Tulane visits Tulsa in a matchup of two of The American's hottest teams. Tulane has won three in a row and has scored at least 31 points in six-consecutive games, while Tulsa has won five-straight conference games dating back to last season.
 • Saturday's ledger is highlighted by Cincinnati's game at UCF at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN. Houston visits SMU at noon on ESPNU as both teams try to remain in the championship game chase. East Carolina is at Temple (noon, ESPN+), Navy is at USF (8 p.m., ESPNU) and Memphis hosts Stephen F. Austin (noon, ESPN+).

Navy's Trends Under Niumatalolo
•    Ken Niumatalolo is in his 13th year as head coach at Navy. He is the longest-tenured coach in school history and in the American Athletic Conference.
•    With 101-career wins, Niumatalolo is the winningest coach in school history.
•    With his 9 wins against Army, he is the winningest coach in the history of the Army-Navy game and with 7 wins against Air Force, he's the winningest Navy coach in the history of the Navy-Air Force game.
•    Navy is 65-14 (.823) under Niumatalolo when scoring first, including 2-1 (.667) in 2020.
•    Navy is 84-5 (.944) under Niumatalolo when entering the fourth quarter with the lead, including 2-0 (1.000) in 2020.
•    The Mids are 70-17 (.805) under Niumatalolo when scoring 30 or more points in a game, including 1-1 (.500) in 2020.
•    Navy is 87-20 (.813) when holding the opposition to under 30 points, including 3-0 (1.000) in 2020.
•    The Mids are 54-15 (.783) at home under Niumatalolo, including 1-2 (.333) in 2020.
•    Navy is 61-20 (.753) under Niumatalolo when scoring on its first possession (regardless of who had the ball first), including 1-1 (.500) in 2020, and 39-44 (.470) when it doesn't score on its first possession, including 2-3 (.400) in 2020.  
•    When Navy scores a touchdown on its first possession of the game (regardless of who had the ball first) in the Niumatalolo era, its record improves to 52-13 (.800), including 1-1 (.500) in 2020.
•    When Navy starts the game with the ball in the Niumatalolo era and scores, the Mids are an impressive 19-5 (.792), including 1-0 in 2020. When the Mids start the game with the ball and go down and score a touchdown, the record is even better at 14-2 (.875), including 1-0 in 2020. When Navy starts the game with the ball and kicks a field goal, the Mids are 5-3 (.625). When Navy starts the game with the ball and doesn't score, they are 15-15 (.500).
•    When the opposition starts the game with the ball and scores a TD, Navy is 16-21 (.432) in the Niumatalolo era. If the Mids hold them to a field goal, Navy is 5-5 (.500). If the opposition starts the game with the ball and Navy holds them off the scoreboard, the Mids are 46-18 (.719).
•    Navy is 36-50 (.419) under Niumatalolo when the opponent scores first in the game, including 1-3 (.250) in 2020.
•    Under Niumatalolo, Navy is 32-24 (.571) with more than one week to prepare for an opponent, including 1-2 (.333) in 2020.