Navy (1-2, 0-1 AAC) vs. USF (2-2, 1-0 AAC)
When	Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023 | 3:30 pm (ET)
Location	Annapolis, Md. | Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium | Parking & Fan Guide
Television	CBS Sports Network (Jordan Kent, Randy Cross, Sheehan Stanwick Burch)
Live Video Stream	CBS Sports Network
Listen	Navy Football Radio Network (Pete Medhurst, Joe Miller, Keith Mills, Scott Wykoff) WBAL 1090 AM / 101.5 FM (Baltimore) | WFED 820 AM, 94.3 FM (Frederick, Md.) | WFED 1500 AM (Washington, D.C.) | WFED 104.5 FM (Western Fairfax / Loudon, Va.) | WNAV 1430 AM, 99.9 FM (Annapolis) | KLSD 1360 AM (San Diego) | WGH 1310 AM / 100.9 FM (Norfolk, Va.) | WJGM 105.7 GM (Jacksonville, Fla.) | Satellite: SiriusXM 136 or 201, SXM App 964 | Apps: Audacy (WNAV) and TuneIn (WBAL)
Live Stats	Navy Athletics
Game Notes	Navy | USF | AAC
Season Statistics	Navy | USF | AAC
Social Media	@NavyAthletics | @NavyFB | Facebook | Instagram

Opening Kick
•    Navy and USF meet on the gridiron for the fourth time, all as American Athletic conference foes, when the two square off on CBS Sports Network Saturday afternoon (3:30 pm) at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis.
•    Navy leads the all-time series against USF 2-1, including a 2-0 mark in Annapolis. Navy won the last meeting 35-3 in Annapolis in 2019.
•    Navy will play the longest regular-season schedule in the country this year. The Mids played the nation's first regular-season college football game of the year against Notre Dame on August 26 at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland and will play the final regular-season game of the year on Dec. 9 vs. Army at Gillette Stadium in New England.    
•     The Mids are coming off their second bye of the year. Navy will have played just 3 games in the first 35 days of the season (8-26 vs. Notre Dame, 9-9 vs. Wagner and 9-14 at Memphis) before Saturday's tilt.
•     Despite playing in the first regular-season game of the year (Aug. 26), Navy is one of only 6 teams in the FBS who have played just 3 games this year, joining Louisiana-Monroe, Marshall, Colorado State, North Texas and Sam Houston State.
•     Navy is trying to return to the dominance it once held at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The Mids were 73-20 (.785) at home from 2003-19, before going 4-12 (.250) at home from 2020-22. Navy is 1-0 (1.000) this year on the hallowed ground of Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
•     Saturday's game will be a contrast in styles as USF tries to play as fast as possible, averaging 84 plays per game (fourth most in the country), while Navy tries to slow the game down, running 64 plays per game (103rd in the country).
•    The game will pit two of the best rushing offenses in the country as Navy is 10th nationally at 223.3 yards per game, while USF is 24th (203.8 yds/gm). The USF rush defense is 19th in the country, giving up just 88 yards per game.
•    Two of the best punting teams in the country will be matching up as USF is ranked 7th in net punting (44.06 yds/punt), while Navy is 17th (42.93 yds/punt). USF's punt return defense is 4th, giving up -1.00 yards per return.
•    USF brings to Annapolis a relentless defense that tries to put you behind the chains. The Bulls rank 18th in sacks (3.25 per game) and 5th in tackles for loss per game (9.0 per game). The Navy offensive line has done a nice job this year limiting negative plays, ranking 20th in sacks allowed per game (1.0) and 24th in tackles for loss allowed (4.0 per game).
•    Another area to keep an eye on Saturday is penalties. Navy ranks 2nd in the country in fewest penalties per game (3.0) and 3rd in fewest penalty yards per game (23.67), while USF ranks 128th in penalties per game (9.75) and 126 in fewest penalty yards per game (85.75).
•    Navy head coach Brian Newberry and USF head coach Alex Golesh are among the 11 first-time head coaches (see complete chart on page 16) in the FBS this year and 2 of 7 first-year head coaches in the AAC.

Broadcast Coverage
•    CBS Sports Network will carry Saturday's game with Jordan Kent (play-by-play), Randy Cross (color) and Sheehan Stanwick Burch (sidelines) on the call.
•    The Navy Football Pregame Show with Pete Medhurst, Joe Miller, Keith Mills, Scott Wykoff and special commentary from John Feinstein will get underway at 2:30 pm on the Navy Radio Network, followed by game action beginning at 3:30 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.
        
Game Day Timeline
•    1:15 pm - The Navy football team will arrive at the Blue Angel on the West (Blue) side of the stadium. The team will walk down the sidewalk and through NavyFest before walking to the tunnel. Fans are invited to stand on both sides of the sidewalk to cheer on the players.
•    3:11 pm - March-on of the Brigade of Midshipmen
•    3:21:30 pm - National Anthem, followed by a flyover
•    Saturday's flyover will feature two F-18F Superhornets from the "Jolly Rogers" of VFA-103, based out of Naval Air Station Oceana Virginia Beach, Va. Piloting the lead aircraft will be Lt. Tommy "RIDDLE" Sears, USNA Class of 2016 and Cmdr. Jonathan "Paddles" Gilliom USNA Class of 2005. The wing aircraft will be piloted by Lt. Tristan Dmitrijev and Lt. Brandon Coleman USNA Class of 2019. Coleman played both football and sprint football as a midshipman.  Providing ground control and support will be Lt. Caleb "BANG BANG" Powell. The "Jolly Rogers" are one of the most recognizable squadrons in fighter aviation sporting their famous Skull and Crossbones on black tails.       
•    3:28:20 pm - Navy will take the field with USF to follow
•    3:32 pm - Kickoff / please note there is a chance the timeline, starting with the March-On, will be pushed back 5 minutes if the first game on CBS Sports Network runs long. That decision will be made prior to the 60-minute clock starting.
•    1st/2nd Quarter Break - The 2022 sprint football team will be recognized. The Mids went 8-0 last year which included beating Army in the Star Game and in the CSFL Championship.
•    Halftime - The Naval Academy Drum and Bugle Corps will perform
•    3rd/4th Quarter Break - The pilots from the pregame flyover will be recognized
•    Postgame - Navy's alma mater, Navy Blue & Gold, will be played as the team stands at attention in front of the Brigade of Midshipmen. It is one of the best traditions in all of sports.

Scouting USF
2-2 Overall  |  1-0 AAC
Head Coach: Alex Golesh

•    USF enters Saturday's contest against the Mids with a 2-2 record, including a 1-0 mark in the American Athletic Conference after defeating Rice 42-29 last Saturday in Tampa.
•    The Bulls are led by impressive redshirt freshman quarterback Byrum Brown, who stands 6-3 and weighs 209 pounds. Brown, who will turn 19 on Friday, is the nation's leading rusher among quarterbacks, running for 87.8 yards per game (26th nationally among all positions). He rushed for 82 yards and a touchdown last week against Rice and his 5 rushing touchdowns on the year stand 17th nationally.
•    Brown, however, is more than just a runner, as he has completed 71 of his 125 passes for 885 yards with 6 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Last week against Rice, Brown torched the Owls for 435 yards and 2 touchdowns while completing 22 of his 29 pass attempts.  The 435 yards are the second-most  single-game passing yards in program history.
•    Brown is 20th in the country in points responsible for per game (17.0) and 17th in total offense per game (309.0).
•    Junior wide receiver Sean Atkins is Brown's favorite target, connecting 24 times for 215 yards and a touchdown, but junior wide receiver Naiem Simmons, a transfer from Wagner, is Brown's big play receiver. Simmons has caught 15 passes for 357 yards and 2 touchdowns (23.8 yds/catch, 11th in country in yds/catch), including a school-record 272 yards receiving on 8 receptions with a touchdown last week against Rice. It also marked the second-most yards in AAC history.
•    When Brown is not carrying the ball, it's usually going to bruising senior running back Nay'Quan Wright, a transfer from Florida, who has rushed for 242 yards and a touchdown on 56 attempts.
•    The USF defense is led by senior linebacker Jhalyn Shuler,  a transfer from Coffeyville Community College, junior linebacker DJ Gordon IV, a transfer from Minnesota, and senior defensive back Daquan Evans.
•    Schuler leads the team with 27 tackles and a forced fumble, while Gordon has 25 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Evans has lived in the opponents' backfield with 21 tackles and a whopping 9 tackles for loss to go along with 3 sacks. Evans is No. 1 in the country in tackles for loss per game, averaging 2.2 per contest.
•    Sophomore defensive end D.J. Harris, a transfer from Texas, is No. 1 in the country in fumbles recovered with 2, while junior safety Logan Berryhill is 17th in interceptions with 2.
•    Sophomore kicker John Cannon is No. 1 in the country in field goal percentage, making all 5 of his attempts, including a 44-yarder against Alabama.
•    Twenty-seven year old punter Andrew Stokes, who played Australian Rules football for 7 years before coming to USF, ranks 22nd nationally in punting averaging (43.9 yds/ punt).
•    USF has 43 transfers on its roster, including 21 new additions this year.

Home-Opening Win A Shutout
•    The last time Navy played at home, the Mids shut out Wagner 24-0. It was Navy's first win in a home opener since 2019 when it walloped Holy Cross 45-7.  
•    It was the Mids' first shutout since Dec. 6, 2008 when Navy stomped Army 34-0.
• It was the first home shutout since Oct. 15, 1994 when the Mids beat Lafayette 7-0.  
• It was Navy's first shutout in the first half since blanking Air Force in the opening half on Oct. 3, 2015, in a game the Mids went on to win 33-11.
• It was the first time Navy has held an opponent without a touchdown since Oct. 19, 2019 when Navy beat USF 35-3.

Protecting the Lead at Home
•    Navy has won 65-consecutive games when leading after three quarters at home, which is the longest streak in the country.
• The last time Navy lost at home when leading after three quarters was Oct. 23, 1999, when Navy led Akron 29-13 and lost 35-29.

Offense Eclipses 400 Yards in Back-To-Back Games
•    Navy (408 yards vs. Wagner) eclipsed 400 yards of total offense for the first time since Oct. 14, 2022, when the Mids ran up 510 yards of total offense against SMU.
•    The Mids came back with 432 yards of offense against Memphis (299 rush, 133 pass) marking the first time Navy has had back-to-back games of 400 yards of total offense since 2022 when the Mids gained 490 yards against Tulsa (455 rush, 35 pass) and 510 yards against SMU (372 rush, 138 yds pass).

Air Navy
•    Navy's 163 yards of passing against Wagner were the most since Oct. 31, 2020, when the Mids threw for 239 yards in a loss to SMU.
•    Navy threw for 133 yards passing against Memphis, marking the first time Navy has had 100 yards passing in back-to-back games since 2022 when the Mids threw for 138 yards against SMU and 125 yards against Houston.
•    The Mids are averaging 14.1 yards per completion, the 23rd-best mark in the country.
•    Navy is one of just 8 schools that have yet to throw an interception this year, joining Penn State, USC, Notre Dame, Texas, Duke, Georgia State and Air Force.

First-Time Starters
•    In its 3 games this season, the Mids have had 13 different players make their first-career start.   
    
Navy's Game-By-Game First-Time Starters
• Notre Dame (6): Khalil Crawford (Sr. / FB), D.J. Donovan (Jr. / TE), Ben Purvis (So. / OG), Thomas Scully (Jr. / TE) and Camari Williams (Sr. / WR) // Jordan Sanders (Jr. / Raider).
• Wagner (5): Javan Bouton (Jr. / OG), Brent Self (Jr. / C), Trey Cummings (Jr. / OT), Brandon Chatman (So. / SB) // Andrew Duhart (So. / CB).
• Memphis (2): Alex Tecza (So. / FB) and Eli Heidenreich (So. / SB).