By FRANCIS FEDOR
The Bulls traveled to Annapolis to face Navy, the conference leader, in a game with huge implications for The American Conference Championship, and a win for USF would keep them in the chase for a Bowl Championship berth. But USF could not find the magic and fell to the Midshipmen 41-38 in a game that went down to the game’s final seconds and recorded its third loss of an otherwise successful season. The Bulls fell out of the Top 25, but have played arguably the toughest schedule in the conference and, ironically, North Texas entered the Top 25 for the first time this season with its only loss coming vs. USF.
USF stalled in its opening drive, punting the ball to Navy for its opening drive. USF had Navy in a third and long, but Alex Tecza broke through for a 76-yard run, Navy’s longest of the season, for the first score of the game. The Bulls found life on the next drive, and a long pass from Byrum Brown to Keshaun Singleton set Nico Gramatica up for a 22-yard FG. Brown again racked up the yardage, accounting for 450 yards of offense. The defense stepped up, forcing a fumble, and USF was back in business. Its drive stalled near mid-field, and the Bulls punted back to Navy. The Midshipmen took advantage and found space in the USF secondary for another long score, an 82-yard TD. Head coach Alex Golesh, in a conversation with a sideline reporter, offered that USF needed to settle down and execute (the plays). In reality, the defense needed to get off the field more than they did as Navy executed their offensive game with long scores.
The Bulls scored their first TD on a Byrum Brown pass to Singleton, this time for the TD. USF went for the two-point conversion and failed, which became one of the crucial moments of the game. Another crucial moment was a USF drive later when the Bulls failed on a fourth-and-one, handing the ball off to a lineman slotted in the backfield. Navy soon scored again, connecting with a wide open receiver who raced to the end zone.
USF kept the game close in the fourth quarter, scoring a TD on a drive where Brown called his own number for a score and later, with a little trickery where Brown took the snap, lateraled to RB Nykahi Davenport who found Jeremiah Kroger for the TD. The usually reliable Gramatica missed the extra point, hitting the right upright, another critical moment in the game.
Each USF score that closed the gap was met with a Navy score that restored the lead, and when starting QB Blake Horvath left the game with an injury, Navy backup QB Braxton Woodson (a Florida native from Altamonte Springs) stepped up and used his speed to score twice, the second a disheartening scamper down the sidelines after faking a hand-off that drew the defense away from him.
Two other USF miscues aided Navy’s scoring drives, the first, a running into the kicker penalty that gave Navy a second chance and resulted in a FG. The second was a pass interference call as the USF defender was lured into a pass, falling short of the receiver on a Navy flea flicker.
The Bulls had one last chance, opting for a Gramatica onsides kick, but Navy recovered and was able to run out the clock. The Bulls showed grit in staying in the game. Brown again showed poise in keeping the offense together and giving USF a chance to stay in the game. But the Bulls will regroup and head to the University of Alabama Birmingham to play the Dragons before closing out their season at home vs Rice on Senior Night at Raymond James Stadium on Nov. 29.
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