Completing his first 26 passes, Davis not only set two NCAA records, he obliterated them. He also directed the winning fourth-quarter drive, leading ECU past Navy 38-35 before 34,612.

It wasn’t easy however, as ECU (3-4) had to retaliate after a furious Navy rally, led by backup quarterback Trey Miller, produced a 35-31 lead with 7:51 left. Miller a sophomore, threw two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter.

It would have been three touchdown passes for Miller (and a likely Navy victory) if officials had overturned a disputed incompletion call with 38 seconds left. On the play, sophomore wideout Matt Aiken rose to grab a pass inside the 5-yard-line and came down with the ball stretched across the goal line, losing it in the end zone when he hit the turf. Replay official Joe Rider maintained that Aiken never had possession.

“I thought we broke the plane and went down with the ball,” Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo. “But that doesn’t matter, they called what they called.”

Navy still was in position to send the game to overtime but hard-luck kicker Jon Teague missed a 42-yard attempt on the final play. His kick slammed into the right upright as Navy (2-5) lost for the fifth straight time.

“We have to make that field goal,” Niumatalolo said of the star-crossed Teague, who has had critical kicks blocked in three of the losses in the current streak. The four games in which the kicking team didn’t produce have been decided by a total of eight points.

“We’re definitely on Monday gonna have to come together and find out what’s going on, find out the best solution,” Navy defensive end Jabaree Tuani said. “This is rough.”

The 6-foot-3 Davis, formerly a starter at Boston College, completed 40 of 45 passes for 372 yards and two touchdowns, riddling a Navy secondary that started two freshmen and had a third starter, Kwesi Mitchell, in a new position. In its last four games, Navy has allowed foes to complete 94 of 111 passes (85 percent) for 1080 yards and nine touchdowns.

On Saturday, the beneficiary was Davis. His 26 straight completions were the most in an NCAA game, exceeding 23 in a row by Tennessee’s Tee Martin in 1998. Davis, who entered Saturday with a string of 10 straight completions, also shattered the NCAA record of 26 overall by California’s Aaron Rodgers in 2004.

“I hope he calls me and tells me congratulations,” Davis said with a chuckle. “Aaron Rodgers is one of my favorite quarterbacks.”

Davis’s domination came on a day when Navy lost its own senior quarterback Kriss Proctor to an elbow injury in the second quarter when he was hit hard by ECU defensive end Matt Milner, who drew a late-hit penalty. Proctor’s status is uncertain for Saturday’s game at Notre Dame.

Miller, who entered the game with two career attempts, completed five of 12 passes for 126 yards and gave Navy a short-lived lead, 35-31, when he fired a 37-yard touchdown pass to Aiken.

But Davis calmly retaliated, driving the Pirates 77 yards for the winning touchdown. The big play of the march came on fourth and five at the Navy 46 when Davis found freshman Danny Webster for 11 yards. Eight plays later, junior Reggie Bullock (26 carries, 104 yards, three touchdowns) scored from three yards out with 2:14 left.

It was a wild second half, which started with ECU up 17-7. On the first play, Navy sophomore Marcus Thomas electrified Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium with a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Thomas was seemingly stopped at his own 30, but retreated from a pack of tacklers and burst free, running up the sideline for the Mids’ first kickoff return touchdown in four years.  

But the inspiration Thomas provided dissipated as Davis guided ECU (3-4) on a methodical, 12-play, 69-yard scoring drive, capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by Bullock.

With Notre Dame up next and its hopes for a ninth straight bowl appearance fading fast, Navy will have to figure out its kicking game and its leaky pass defense.

“We are at the lowest of lows,” Tuani said. “We have a great fighting spirit and we are going to watch film and work at correcting things.”

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