Photo by Quinn Conrad | The Crow’s Nest
By Dominic Feo
The University of South Florida’s homecoming party was spoiled by the Navy Midshipmen in a 28-7 blowout.
The loss puts USF at a record of 4-5 and 2-3 in conference play. Navy moves to 7-2 on the season.
Navy’s triple-option offense prevented USF’s defense from getting them off the field for most of the game, this caused limited opportunities for the Bulls offense which they failed to capitalize on.
On the opening drive, Navy running back Eli Heidenreich took a pitch down the sideline for a 60-yard touchdown. A sign of what was to come for the rest of the game.
USF responded by moving the ball quickly downfield until quarterback Bryce Archie threw an interception in the redzone to linebacker Kyle Jacob. Navy turned the pick into a 20-yard touchdown from running back Brandon Chatman to give Navy a 14-point lead at the end of the first quarter.
It took less than a minute into the second quarter for USF’s defense to make a play. Senior linebacker Jhalyn Shuler knocked the ball out of Navy quarterback Blake Horvath’s hands on a sack. After a lengthy review, the play was ruled a fumble, setting the Bulls offense up at midfield.
On the following drive, USF’s offense got inside kicking range but opted to go for a touchdown on fourth down. The attempt was unsuccessful, leaving the Bulls with no points from their best drive so far.
USF head coach Alex Golesh discussed in the post-game press conference the team’s plan to be aggressive with their decision making.
“We are naturally aggressive as it is, I think when you’re down fourteen nothing, you feel like you need to go score touchdowns,” said Golesh.
Both teams spent the rest of the second quarter trading punts as the game began to slow down. With under thirty seconds left in the first half, Archie threw an interception to cornerback Irabonoise Oniha.
Horvath took advantage of the timely mistake, throwing a 38-yard receiving touchdown to fullback Alex Tecza. The late touchdown made the score 21-0 to end the half.
The Bulls struggles on offense continued into the second half.
Nine minutes left in the third quarter, Archie broke off a 35-yard run, only to get sacked for a fumble two plays later.
Disaster struck early in the fourth quarter when Navy faked a punt for a 34-yard run that put the Midshipmen in scoring range. Navy scored their fourth touchdown of the game on a 10-yard run from Horvath.
USF did not score until there were under two minutes left in the game. Archie hit receiver Micheal Brown-Stephens on a 13-yard touchdown pass that was too little, too late.
After the game, Golesh expressed his disappointment with the team’s performance in such an important game.
“Homecoming, good crowd, and I’m really disappointed in us, disappointed in myself,” he said.
The Bulls will travel to Charlotte University on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 3:30 p.m. to face a 3-6 Niners team.
USF will have to win two of their final three games to be bowl eligible.
