FLORIDA — A quarterback duel between Byrum Brown and Blake Horvath — with potential playoff hopes on the line — is enough to make South Florida's matchup with Navy one of the most significant games of the weekend.
There is, however, the rather large matter of Horvath's health.
“I feel good," Navy coach Brian Newberry said earlier this week. "I think he's made an improvement every day. He's starting to feel better and better.”
The Midshipmen could certainly use Horvath at full strength Saturday when they host No. 25 USF in another big inflection point in the American Athletic Conference title race. There are five teams with one loss in conference play, and these are two of them.
The champion of the AAC has a decent shot at earning a bid to the College Football Playoff. That's what made Tulane's win over Memphis last week so important. Navy (7-2, 5-1), South Florida (7-2, 4-1), North Texas (8-1, 4-1), Tulane (7-2, 4-1) and East Carolina (6-3, 4-1) are jockeying for spots in the league title game.
Navy faces USF and Memphis in its final two conference games. The Midshipmen have dropped two in a row after winning their first seven. Horvath was scratched from last week's loss to Notre Dame because of an injury.
Assuming he’s back, this is a clash between two outstanding dual-threat quarterbacks. Brown is the only player in the FBS who has reached 2,000 yards passing and 700 rushing this season. Horvath has even more yards rushing (926 with 13 touchdowns) while operating Navy’s Wing-T offense.
In addition to moving into the AP Top 25, South Florida also received the No. 24 spot in the most recent CFP rankings, which is important since that ranking is the AAC's top tiebreaker after head-to-head record.
“The biggest message to our guys right now is: Elite teams find a way to improve as they go here in November,” South Florida coach Alex Golesh said. “Elite teams find a way to stay focused.”
Tough to catch
Navy has won 77 consecutive home games when leading after three quarters. Its most recent defeat in such a situation was back in 1999.
More on Brown
The South Florida quarterback is the third FBS player in the last 30 seasons with at least 2,200 yards passing, 19 passing TDs and 700 yards rushing through nine games. The others were Oklahoma's Jalen Hurts in 2019 and Louisville's Lamar Jackson in 2016.
Brown also has a chance to reach 3,000 yards passing and 1,000 rushing. Only 11 players in FBS history have done that — most recently LSU's Jayden Daniels in 2023 — and eight of them finished in the top three in the Heisman Trophy vote.
More on Horvath
His career pass efficiency rating of 164.9 makes him one of only 34 quarterbacks since 1956 with a rating of 164 or better. He's 30th on that list, right between two No. 1 overall draft picks — Bryce Young of Alabama and Alex Smith of Utah.
Horvath threw for 339 yards and ran for 130 in a win over Air Force last month. The 469 yards of total offense broke the school record.
Series history
These teams have met only five times, beginning with a Navy victory in 2015 and alternating wins since then. The Midshipmen won 28-7 at USF last season, rushing for 321 yards. Brown missed the game with a leg injury.
South Florida won 44-30 at Navy in 2023, with Brown throwing for three touchdowns and Horvath throwing for two.
Wide margins
South Florida has 10 wins by at least 25 points since the start of last season. Only Indiana (12) and Ohio State (11) have more.
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