USF has tough task in stopping Navy's run game

TAMPA -- No pun intended, but the USF football team is headed into unchartered waters Saturday when it travels to Annapolis to face Navy.

The Midshipmen have an offense that USF hasn't quite seen since Willie Taggart took over the program three years ago. The Middies run the triple option behind quarterback Keenan Reynolds and are ranked fifth in the country in rushing, averaging 301.7 yards per game.

For the USF defense, physicality is the word. If you don't like smashmouth, in-your-face football, this might be a good weekend to stay home.

Kickoff is scheduled for noon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

Navy averages 56 rushes per game and there are few teams better at playing keep-away. Reynolds holds the NCAA record for quarterbacks with 75 rushing touchdowns and needs three more to pass the all-time leader, Montee Ball.

"We have to swarm like we've never swarmed before and can't miss tackles," Bulls defensive coordinator Tom Allen said.

Navy is 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the American Athletic Conference. The Midshipmen have won seven straight at home and 11 of their last 13 games with the only losses coming to Notre Dame.

USF (4-3, 2-1) has won three straight and stands alone in second place of the AAC East Division behind Temple (7-0, 4-0). Navy is in the West Division with unbeatens Memphis and Houston.

This is the first meeting between the teams and Taggart wants to make sure his players are not using this as a tour of the Naval Academy.

"Our goal isn't to go up there and look around, our goal is to go up there and win. This is a business trip," the former Manatee High quarterback said.

Part of locking in against Navy's offense is playing assignment football. The Mids often try to lull a team to sleep and then pop a pass. They use a lot of deception with their run game.

"As a defense, when you have rules and responsibilities, you have to stay patient and stay locked in," Taggart said. "That's how they get you because they'll keep doing it and keep doing it. That one time you lose focus and not do your job, that's when they'll hit you. They'll get you really good."

If USF's defense has some trouble, Taggart and his staff are hoping the offense can help. In their current three-game win streak, the Bulls have scored a combined 111 points and showed explosiveness.

USF also likes to run and is 14th in the FBS with 236.1 yards per game on ground, averaging 44 carries per game.

The good news for the Bulls is that leading rusher Marlon Mack is expected to play after sitting out last week's victory over SMU with a sore hamstring. Quarterback Quinton Flowers more than made up for Mack's absence with 201 yards rushing. He suffered a thigh contusion on his last play of the game, but Taggart said the sophomore from Miami is ready to play. The same is true of running back D'Ernest Johnson, who was also dinged up last week.

"You can't be mentally weak against that team because they are disciplined and mentally tough," Taggart said "If they are tired, they fight through it. When they are hurting, they fight through it. It's kind of how they are built."

Last week, Tulane opened with nine men in the box, dared Navy to throw and held the Mids to 134 yards rushing, their lowest output of the season, until turnovers let the game slip away.

The Bulls have been getting good play with their special teams under the tutelage of assistant head coach Ray Woodie. They rank in the top 25 nationally in punt returns (14th), kickoff returns (23d) and net punting (25th).

This story was originally published October 31, 2015 at 12:20 AM with the headline "USF has tough task in stopping Navy's run game ."