Dominique Davis connected on all 26 of his first-half throws to extend his streak of pass completions to 36 straight over two games, and East Carolina rode his record-setting performance to a 38-35 victory against skidding Navy on Saturday night.
Davis broke the single-game record of 23 straight completions, set in 1998 by Tee Martin of Tennessee and tied in 2004 by Aaron Rodgers of California.
Davis completed his final 10 passes against Memphis last week, so his stunning first half against Navy gave him 36 completions in a row — breaking the NCAA mark of 26 set in 2004 by Rodgers, now a star with the Green Bay Packers.
"I hope he calls me and tells me congratulations," Davis said. "Aaron Rodgers is one of my favorite quarterbacks because he's a guy just like me, coming from a junior college and going to D-1. Now he's in the NFL doing great things. It's an honor."
After going 26 for 26 for 251 yards before halftime, Davis' streak ended when he misfired on his first attempt in the third quarter. He finished 40 for 45 for 372 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
It wasn't until he reached the locker room after the game that Davis learned how special his numbers were.
"I had no idea until after the game," he said. "When they told me, I was like, 'Wow, really?' It's amazing, but when you do your job and put the ball in your receivers' hands, that's what happens."
Coming into the game, the Pirates led the nation with 23 turnovers. In this game, East Carolina (3-4) didn't give the ball away.
But the game wasn't decided until Navy's Jon Teague hit the right upright on a 42-yard field-goal attempt as time expired. Seconds earlier, a leaping Matt Aiken had his hands on a potential touchdown pass, but lost his grip as he came down in the end zone.
"I thought he broke the plane and went down with the ball," coach Ken Niumatalolo of Navy said. "But that doesn't matter; they called what they called. We have to make that field goal."
Navy (2-5) has lost five straight, its longest skid since 2002.
"This is a tough loss for this team and this program," Niumatalolo said.
The Midshipmen trailed 31-21 with 14:53 left before backup quarterback Trey Miller threw a 59-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Turner and a 37-yard strike to Aiken for a 35-31 lead with 7:51 to go..
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