Navy Almost Lost Last Night Because They Scored Too Many Touchdowns

Navy's Keenan Reynolds set an NCAA record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback last night by finding the end zone seven times. Midshipmen coach Ken Niumatalolo would have preferred Reynolds stopped at three, because his fourth allowed a San Jose State comeback that forced Navy to win in triple overtime.

The Spartans had already exhausted their allotment of timeouts when Navy lined up on first down at the SJSU 20 with about 2:45 left in the game and a one-point lead. Even if the Midshipmen failed to reach the first down marker, they could kneel four straight times and know their opponent would have to go 80 yards on, at most, two plays. San Jose State coach Ron Caragher called a "Gator flop" and let Reynolds march into the end zone; the Spartans now had the ball at their own 25 with 2:38 left in what was still a one-possession game.

Sure enough, SJSU went 75 yards for the score and succeeded in the two-point try to force overtime. Navy ended up winning in the third extra period—one in which Reynolds scored all three Midshipmen touchdowns, giving him the record—but their lives would have been a lot easier if Reynolds had simply fallen down instead of entering the end zone for his fourth TD. [ESPN]