No. 16 Navy struggles to stop No. 21 Houston in 52-31 loss
HOUSTON (AP) - Navy could not get the Houston offense off the field.
Greg Ward, Jr. threw for 308 yards and three touchdowns to lead Houston to a 52-31 win over Navy, sending the Cougars to the first American Athletic Conference championship game.
Houston (11-1, 7-1 American) clinched the West Division title and will host either Temple or South Florida in the championship game Dec. 5. The Cougars are also well positioned to earn a bid to a New Year's Six bowl game, likely the Fiesta Bowl, if they win the league championship.
On top of Ward's play, Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo singled out Houston's 16 of 19 on third downs and two perfect fourth down conversions for the loss.
"The difference in the game was that we couldn't get them off the field," Niumatalolo said. "We played decent on first and second down, but we could not get them off the field on third downs. It just killed us."
Keenan Reynolds, Navy's great triple-option quarterback, rushed for 84 yards on 19 carries and a fourth quarter touchdown and was 14 of 17 for 312 yards passing and a touchdown for the Midshipmen (9-2, 7-1). The Heisman Trophy contender scored his 83rd career touchdown to match the FBS record set by Wisconsin's Montee Ball. Reynolds also set a Navy record with his 29th career TD pass.
"Whatever works to get us down the field we're going to do," Reynolds said. "Football is both. We're able to run the ball for 300-plus yards, so the game plan was for us to throw it, and we were able to complete some big plays in the passing game."
Navy had its five-game winning streak snapped.
"Third downs killed us," Niumatalolo said. "We had the ball like three times in the first half. I don't know how many possessions we had, but we didn't have the ball very often. Like I said, our defense has been playing lights out this whole year. You just tip your hat to them, They played better. Our defense has played really well this year, and sometimes it happens. Sometimes they out play you, and you just have to move on."
Navy's Jamir Tillman caught five passes for 162 yards and a touchdown. Chris Swain ran for two touchdowns for Navy.
Navy had rushed for 400 yards in back-to-back contests, but was limited to 147 yards by Houston's defense.
Navy finishes its regular season against Army Dec. 12.
"You know 1-0, it works both ways," Reynolds said. "Fortunately, we're working in the win column more than the losing column, but we have to move on. Like coach said in the locker room (Army) is the biggest game on the schedule this year. The pain we felt losing this game doesn't compare to losing to Army."
Ward was 26-of-35 passing and ran for 83 yards and another score as Houston opened up a 38-17 lead by the end of the third quarter.
Houston's Brandon Wilson, who was moved from cornerback to running back this week because of injuries, ran for 111 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. Demarcus Ayers had eight catches for 161 yards and a touchdown and threw a 29-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter for Houston, which compiled 555 yards of offense.
"They were just making great plays," Navy nose guard Bernard Sarra said. "The coaches put us in good positions on third down. We were always in good positions on third down. We just weren't able to get them off the field."
After Reynolds was intercepted on the second play of the second half, Ward threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Linell Bonner to increase Houston's lead to 17 with 11 1-2 minutes left in the third quarter.
Following Austin Grebe's 39-yard field goal for Navy, Ayers extended Houston's lead to 38-17 with a one-handed catch and run for a 62-yard touchdown reception from Ward with 2:26 left in the third.
Ward put Houston ahead for good, spinning away from four Navy defenders and scampering for a 5-yard touchdown with five minutes left in the first half. Ty Cummings hit a 45-yard field goal to end the half to give the Cougars a 24-14 lead.