Navy beats Pittsburgh in Military Bowl for program-record 11th win

The Keenan Reynolds revolution was televised. On Oct. 12, 2012, the true freshman quarterback from Antioch, Tenn., was featured for the first time at Central Michigan on ESPN2 on Friday night.

Navy’s offense was struggling in its second year after star Ricky Dobbs had left. In their first three games against FBS competition, the Midshipmen had lost to Notre Dame, Penn State and San Jose State by a combined 96-17.

Navy tore up Pitt at home in the Military Bowl, 44-28, to finish with 11 wins for the first time ever.

Your key takeaway is that outgoing senior Midshipmen quarterback Keenan Reynolds took back the FBS career scrimmage touchdowns record while generally adding more numbers to his ludicrous pile.

Army and Navy always treat their season-ending rivalry showdown like the special game it is, and that extends to uniforms. The debut of these Midshipmen helmets was one of the best uniform things ever, but this year’s tops even that.

Per release:

Navy has rolled through one of the best seasons in school history behind its Heisman candidate quarterback. Reynolds, who set NCAA records for total touchdowns and career rushing touchdowns at the tail end of his four-year career at quarterback, can cap his career with his 36th win and tie the academy’s record for most total wins by a player (set way back in 1908). All he has to do is beat the Panthers in Annapolis.

The Midshipmen have the tools to give the Panthers trouble in the postseason. Pittsburgh’s first year coach Pat Narduzzi earned his CFB stripes as Michigan State’s defensive coordinator, but he’ll have to face the unique challenge of Navy’s triple option offense. Only one team in the country rushes for more yards per game than the Midshipmen, and though Reynolds is the headliner, eight of his teammates have run for at least 100 yards this season.

Pitt hasn’t won nine games in a season since 2009. Navy hasn’t won 11 in a season since ... ever. There are stakes, but perhaps the biggest battles have already been won: neither Pitt nor Navy appears to be losing its head coach this season! (Knock on wood.)

The last two performances of the year -- a three-touchdown road loss to Houston (which cost Navy the AAC West title) and the usual slog past Army -- may have been two of their worst of the year, but Ken Niumatalolo’s eighth season as Navy’s head coach was easily his best.

Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds continues to make history, scoring his 85th career rushing touchdown Saturday vs. Army. That breaks the Division I record, previously set by former Georgia Southern running back Adrian Peterson and Towson running back Terrance West.

He tied the Division I record earlier in the game with this 58-yard scamper.

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The Military Bowl (not to be confused with the Armed Forces Bowl) is an annual matchup between schools that don’t usually have military affiliations, with the exception of the time Air Force played in the game in 2011.

Originally founded as the EagleBank Bowl in 2008, it was renamed the Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman in 2010. From its inception, it pitted teams from the ACC against a Conference USA opponent or service academy. In 2014, it switched to its current format of the ACC against the American Athletic Conference.