Today, USF’s quarterback Byrum Brown had an outstanding performance, completing 26 of 34 passes for 338 yards and three touchdowns, leading his team to a 44-30 victory over Navy. Despite being the nation’s top rushing quarterback before the game, Brown was held to minus 27 yards on the ground by Navy’s strong defense.
Navy’s head coach, Brian Newberry, praised the defense for creating turnovers and opportunities but expressed frustration over the offense’s inability to capitalize on them. He also highlighted the need to avoid giving up big plays on defense.
I thought we did some good things defensively,. We turned them over three times today and put ourselves in some good situations. We had opportunities down in the red zone and had some short fields and couldn’t take advantage of it. We couldn’t really sustain anything offensively so we have to be better on that side of the ball and can’t give up big plays on defense. They had the one big shot play, we should have been in pretty good shape there and weren’t.
Navy Head Coach, Brian Newberry
The game began favorably for Navy when they recovered a USF fumble on a punt return, leading to a quick touchdown. However, USF responded with 21 consecutive points, including an 88-yard touchdown pass to Sean Atkins.
Navy had a few shining moments, with notable runs by Brandon Chatman and Daba Fofana, but they struggled to maintain offensive momentum. The defense came through with turnovers, including a sack by Xavier McDonald that resulted in a fumble recovery.
Navy managed to tie the game at 23 with a field goal, but USF regained the lead with a well-fought touchdown pass. Unfortunately, Navy’s offense faltered again when a mishandled snap led to a 70-yard touchdown return for USF.
The Navy defense, led by Xavier McDonald, forced another fumble late in the game, giving the offense one more chance. However, they couldn’t convert, and a missed field goal sealed their fate.
Despite a late touchdown pass from Horvath to Eli Heidenreich, Navy couldn’t recover an onside kick and secure the win.
On a positive note, Navy’s rushing game was strong, with Alex Tecza leading with 82 yards on the ground. Horvath had a decent passing performance with 83 yards and two touchdowns, including the long 68-yard touchdown pass to Heidenreich.
Defensively, Will Harbour, Colin Ramos, and Xavier McDonald stood out with impressive tackles and forced turnovers.
Navy now holds a 1-3 record for the season and will face North Texas at home next Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Be sure to follow Eye On Annapolis for all the game coverage!
