Southern Methodist Mustangs vs Navy Midshipmen Match Player Stats On Nov 14, 2015

The Sports Xchange
Nov 14, 2015

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds broke the NCAA record for rushing touchdowns, increasing his career total to 81 with four scores, and the Midshipmen cruised to a 55-14 victory over Southern Methodist on Saturday.

Navy, ranked No. 20 in the College Football Playoff poll, improved to 8-1 for the first time since 1963 when Heisman Trophy winner Roger Staubach was the quarterback. The Midshipmen also improved to 6-0 in the American Athletic Conference.

SMU extended its losing streak to eight games, falling to 1-9 overall and 0-6 in the league.

Reynolds entered the game tied with Wisconsin's Montee Ball with 77 touchdowns on the ground. He wasted little time surpassing the former running back, scoring on the Midshipmen's opening drive with a 4-yard run.

Reynolds finished with 137 yards on 14 carries and also threw a 72-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jamir Tillman. Reynolds is now just two away from the all-time NCAA record for total touchdowns behind Ball (83).

SMU has struggled against the run and entered the game ranked 121st out of 127 Football Bowl Subdivision schools by allowing 259.6 yards allowed per game. The Midshipmen exploited this weakness, running for 403 yards on 65 carries.

Reynolds' record-setting scoring run capped a 14-play, 70-yard scoring drive. On the Midshipmen's next possession, Reynolds found a seam and scampered 43 yards to boost the lead to 14-0. Reynolds then scored on Navy's third straight possession with another 8-yard run.

After Midshipmen defensive end Will Anthony blocked a field-goal attempt, Reynolds threw the 72-yard strike to Tillman for 28-0 lead. The Mustangs finally got in the board with a 1-yard run by quarterback Matt Davis with 54 seconds remaining in the half.

Navy continued to pour it on in the third quarter, increasing the lead to 34-7 on a 19-yard run by Demond Brown. SMU answered with a 32-yard touchdown pass from Davis to wide freshman receiver Kevin Thomas.

Reynolds got his fourth touchdown on a 32-yard run that boosted the lead to 41-14. Slotback Joshua Walker and backup quarterback Tago Smith each added 8-yard runs to round out Navy's scoring.

NOTES: With the victory, the Midshipmen took home the Frank Gansz Trophy. Gansz played for the Midshipmen from 1957-59 and was an assistant coach at Navy and SMU. ... It was an emotional game for SMU backup quarterback Garrett Krstich, whose late father Jeff played football for Navy and was a co-captain in 1969. Krstich got an honorary start and threw a complete pass for no gain on the first play and later threw an interception in his only other pass attempt. ... Dating back to last year, Navy has won 14 of its past 16 games with both losses coming to Notre Dame.