Navy (6-2, 4-1 AAC) at USF (4-4, 2-2 AAC)
When	Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024 | 12:00 pm (ET)
Location	Tampa, Fla. | Raymond James Stadium
Television	ESPN2 (Roy Philpott, Sam Acho, Taylor Davis)
Live Video Stream	WatchESPN and ESPN+
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) | KWFN 97.3 FM (San Diego) | WGH 1310 AM / 100.9 FM (Norfolk, Va.) | WJGM 105.7 FM (Jacksonville, Fla.) | KIKI 990 AM (Honolulu, Hawai'i) | Satellite: Sirius Ch. 83, SXM App Ch. 83 | Apps: Audacy (WNAV and KWFN) and TuneIn (WBAL)
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Game Notes	Navy | USF | AAC
Season Statistics	Navy | USF | AAC
Social Media	@NavyAthletics | @NavyFB | Facebook | Instagram

Opening Kick
•    Navy (6-2, 4-1 in the American Athletic Conference) and USF (4-4, 2-2 AAC) meet for the 5th time on the gridiron and just the 2nd time in Tampa when the two square off on Saturday afternoon (12 noon) at Raymond James Stadium (65,857) in Tampa. Saturday's contest is being televised by ESPN2.
•    Navy is looking for its first 7-2 start to a season since 2019. The Mids opened that year 7-2 en route to an 11-2 record, won the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy with victories over Air Force and Army and defeated Kansas State in the Liberty Bowl.
•    USF enters Saturday's game winners of two-straight contests, defeating UAB 35-25 and Florida Atlantic 44-21 last Friday night. USF has played an extremely difficult schedule with losses to nationally-ranked Alabama and Miami, as well as to Tulane and Memphis in the AAC. Saturday is also Homecoming for the Bulls.
•    Saturday will be Navy's 3rd-consecutive game played in a venue that has hosted a Super Bowl. The Mids played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. on Oct. 26 and at Rice Stadium against Rice on Nov. 2. 
•    The all-time series between Navy and USF is tied at 2 apiece. The Mids are 2-1 against the Bulls in Annapolis and 0-1 in Tampa. Last year, USF defeated the Mids 44-30 in Annapolis.
•    Navy is looking to bounce back from back-to-back disappointing losses. The Mids lost to No. 12 Notre Dame 51-14 two weeks ago thanks to 6 turnovers and then turned it over 2 more times in a 24-10 loss to Rice last week in a game that was delayed 3 times (lighning) for a total of 5 hours and 6 minutes, including a 2 hour and 25-minute delay to start the game. Navy has not lost 3-consecutive games since 2021 when the Mids lost 3 in a row on 2 different occasions en route to a 4-8 season.  
•    Navy, picked 11th in the 14-team AAC preseason poll, is currently in 3rd place with a 4-1 record and owns a win over preseason favorite Memphis. The Mids, who play 3 of the top-4 teams in the preseason poll (Memphis, Tulane, South Florida), control their own destiny to make the American Athletic Conference Championship Game. Navy would secure a spot in the championship game with wins over USF, Tulane and ECU as Navy would own the tiebreaker against Tulane.   
•    Navy's 293 points in its 8 games this season are 81 more than it scored in its combined 12 games last year (212).
•    Navy has scored a touchdown on the 1st play of a drive 5 times this fall, which is the 3rd most in the FBS.
•    Navy is averaging 251.4 rushing yards per game this year, the 5th-best average in the FBS and the program's best since 2019 when it averaged a school-record 360.5 rushing yards per game.
•    Navy is 26-29 (.897) in the red zone this year with 24 of those scores resulting in touchdowns (Navy's first 20 red zone trips resulted in touchdowns before settling for a field goal against Charlotte). Navy is tied for 4th in the country in red zone touchdown percentage (.830). 
•    Riley Riethman's (Sr. / P) 44.2 career punting average (201 punts, 8,894 yards) is the best in school history (min. 50 attempts). He owns 4 of the 5-best single-game performances in Navy history (min. of 5 punts), averaging a school-record 52.2 yards per punt on 5 punts against Rice last week, 50.8 yds/punt against SMU in 2023 and 50.6 yds/punt against Notre Dame in 2021 and Air Force in 2024. He is averaging 45.7 yards per punt this year which would be a school record. He is ranked 12th in the nation in punting average this fall.
•    Eli Heidenreich (Jr. / Snipe) and Alex Tecza (Jr. / FB), who grew up in Pittsburgh and have known each other since the first grade, have combined to score a touchdown for Navy in 14 of the last 18 games dating back to the 2023 season. 
•    Rayuan Lane III (Sr. / Safety) made his 38th-consecutive start at safety for the Mids against Rice, which is the longest active streak for a safety in the FBS and second longest by a player in the secondary. Lane III also has 3 forced fumbles this year, tied for the 7th most in the FBS. Sporting News named him to its Midseason All-America Team, while he was also recently named a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award.
•    DaShaun Peele (Sr. / CB) became the 1st player in school history to return 2 interceptions for a touchdown in the same game in the Mids' win over Charlotte. It's the 3rd time this year Navy has returned an interception for a touchdown as Rayuan Lane III (Sr. / S) had an 86-yard interception return for a touchdown with 23 seconds left in the game against Memphis that clinched the victory for the Mids. Peele leads the Mids with 4 interceptions.
•     Blake Horvath (Jr. / QB), Alabama's Jalen Milroe, New Mexico's Devin Dampier and Washington State's John Mateer are the only 4 quarterbacks in the FBS with double-figure rushing AND passing touchdowns.   
•    Horvath is the No. 24-rated quarterback (min. 100 drop backs) and the No. 5 overall runner (all positions, min. 100 attempts), while Lane III is the No. 1-rated safety (min. 500 snaps) in the FBS according to Pro Football Focus. Additionally, Connor McMahon (Sr. / OT) is the 5th-best pass blocker (min. 450 snap counts).

Broadcast Coverage
•    ESPN2 will carry Saturday's game with Roy Philpott (play-by-play), Sam Acho (color) and Taylor Davis (sidelines) on the call.
•    The Navy Football Pregame Show with Joe Miller, Keith Mills, Scott Wykoff and special commentary from John Feinstein will get underway at 11 pm on the Navy Radio Network, followed by game action beginning at 12 noon with Miller and Mills on the call.
•    Following the contest, Miller, Mills and Wykoff will recap the day's events in a 30-minute postgame show.

Scouting USF
4-4 Overall  |  2-2 AAC
Head Coach: Alex Golesh

•    USF enters Saturday's game winners of 2-straight contests, defeating Florida Atlantic 44-21 and UAB 35-25. All 4 of the USF losses have come at the hands of outstanding teams: Alabama, Miami (Fla.), Tulane and Memphis.
•    USF has 40 transfers on its roster, including 21 from the Power 4.
•    The Bulls are coming off a 44-21 smashing of rival FAU as USF tied a school record with 7 sacks and 13 tackles for loss against the Owls.
•    Coastal Carolina transfer junior Bryce Archie stepped in for the injured Byrum Brown (who is now back but did not start against FAU) and has been impressive. He has completed 71 of his 130 pass attempts for 739 yards with 5 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Meanwhile, Brown is 78 for 132 passing for 836 yards and 2 touchdowns. The combined 4 interceptions by USF quarterbacks rank 17th in the FBS.
•    Graduate student running back Kelley Joiner leads the USF rushing attack with 453 yards and 7 touchdowns on 73 carries, while graduate student and Florida transfer Nay'Quan Wright has 379 yards and 3 touchdowns on 74 carries.
•    Graduate student wide receiver Sean Atkins leads USF in receving with 42 catches for 415 yards and a touchdown, while graduate student and Purdue transfer Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen has 17 catches for 223 yards. Atkins is also 16th in the country in punt returns, averaging 11.5 per contest.
•    The USF defense is led by graduate student outside linebacker Mac Harris (51 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and 2 sacks) and graduate student linebacker and FAU transfer Jamie Pettway (43 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and 1 sack). Junior corner and James Madison transfer Brent Austin is 10th in the nation in passes defended (pass deflections and INTs divided by # of games), averaging 1.3 per contest.
•    The USF defense is 20th in the FBS in fourth down defense (.375 conversion rate by the opposition) and 24th in red zone defense (.759). The Bulls are also 12th in the country in tackles for loss (7.6)
•    The Bulls are 15th in the nation in net punting, averaging 42.3 yards per punt. Their punt return defense is execptional, giving up just 3.8 yards per return (19th). The USF punt return team ranks 25th nationally, averaging 12.4 yards per return.
•    Senior punter Andrew Stokes is 18th in the country in punting average, averaging 44.9 yards per punt.

Better Get Used to the Road
•    After opening the season with 3-consecutive home games, the Mids will play 7 of their final-9 games away from home (5 road, 2 neutral site).
•    Navy is the only FBS team in the country that has just 2 true home games in the final 9 contests.