BOISE, Idaho — THIS DAY IN SPORTS…November 10, 2007, 15 years ago today:
Navy and North Texas combine to score the most points in regulation in FBS history — 136 of them — when the Midshipmen outduel the Mean Green, 74-62 in Denton, Texas. North Texas quarterback Giovanni Vizza tossed eight touchdowns and threw for 478 yards, while the Midshipmen rushed for 572 yards and eight scores. Imagine how much fun it was to defend Navy’s triple-option that night. It was the highest score posted by the Midshipmen since they beat Colby 121-0 in 1919.
And it wasn’t even the highest-scoring game of the season. The Big Sky’s Weber State and Portland State had rolled up 141 points for the NCAA all-division record two weeks earlier. The Wildcats won the FCS game 73-68. Just four weeks before the Navy-North Texas track meet, Boise State and Nevada had also combined for 136 points, but that game went four overtimes (a 69-67 Bronco win) in a legendary Sunday night game on the Blue Turf. The Broncos and Wolf Pack were tied 44-44 at the end of regulation. The previous FBS record for points in regulation had been 133 points in San Jose State's 70-63 win over Rice in a WAC game in 2004.
The Navy-North Texas mark stood until 2016, when Pittsburgh outlasted Syracuse 76-61. The Panthers’ head coach, Pat Narduzzi, was known for his defensive prowess. “I’ve never been in a game like that; I don’t ever want to be in a game like that again,” said Narduzzi after the game. “But I’ll go back and say there’s no such thing as a bad win. Half of me is jumping for joy with what our offense did today. The other half of me, makes me sick.”
Now there’s a new record, 140 points, as just last week SMU beat Houston 77-63. It could have been more, as the Cougars scored a touchdown and got the ball back with 3½ minutes left, hoping for a miracle before quarterback Clayton Thune threw an interception. Thune passed for 527 yards and seven TDs but had three picks. Mustangs QB Tanner Mordecai threw for a more reasonable 379 yards, but he had nine touchdown passes, including a whopping seven in the first half. Oh, and Mordecai also rushed for 111 yards and a TD.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)
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