Point made

ANNAPOLIS — Maybe Navy is destined to never play an overtime game.

The Midshipmen, one of three Division I-A teams never to play extra time since overtime was instituted in 1996, escaped with a 14-13 victory yesterday against Rice when Owls kicker Brennan Landry botched a potential game-tying extra point with 4:41 left in the fourth quarter.

Earlier, Landry set a Rice record by making his 87th career extra point.

The victory made Navy (6-1) bowl eligible for the second consecutive season, as well as keeping the Mids undefeated at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

“It means a lot to everybody on the team,” linebacker David Mahoney said. “It helps with recruiting to go to a bowl two years in a row. It shows we’ve come together as a team and made a great turnaround. It shows the whole program is on the rise.”

Quarterback Aaron Polanco had a busy day, setting career highs in rushing attempts (33), rushing yards (179) and passes (15). Rice’s defense made it clear early it would focus on stopping the fullback and the slotback in the triple option, so Polanco spent much of the game keeping the ball himself.

Fullback Kyle Eckel, who missed the first series because he was late for a positional meeting Friday, finished with 32 yards on 10 carries, and no other Mid had more than two carries. Polanco kept it on 10 consecutive offensive plays at one point.

“We couldn’t run the fullback because they were killing us inside,” Navy coach Paul Johnson said. “When we ran the option to the outside, they chose not to take the quarterback. It was their choice. It wasn’t really ours.”

Navy went ahead 14-0 on a 1-yard touchdown run by slotback Frank Divis and a fumble recovery in the end zone by wideout Corey Dryden. Polanco connected with Eric Roberts for the 39-yard score, but he fumbled the ball into the end zone and Dryden fell on it.

Rice (3-4) entered the game as the nation’s top rushing team, averaging nearly 346 yards a game, but finished with 223 against Navy. After the Mids’ second touchdown, Rice coach Ken Hatfield switched quarterbacks, and redshirt freshman Joel Armstrong led the Owls on a valiant comeback.

Armstrong led scoring drives of 80 and 69 yards in his two possessions, more than doubling Rice’s total yardage output (109 through nearly three quarters).

“We just needed to change some things up,” Hatfield said. “[Armstrong] ad-libbed some plays and had faith in the offensive line to protect him and get the job done.”

After the missed extra point, Navy churned out three first downs to drain the clock. Polanco carried on six of the seven plays.

“[Navy] is a good, solid team,” Hatfield said. “But they’ve got to look back at this game and know they got a break.”

Johnson didn’t quite see it that way.

“It happens — it has happened a lot this year,” Johnson said of the missed extra point. “I don’t know if that won the game. Where was the ball when the game ended? [On the Rice 35]. One more first down and we have a shot to kick a field goal. Plus, we probably would have played it differently.”

Former Navy and Virginia coach George Welsh was honored before the game. Welsh, a 1956 Naval Academy graduate, won more games (55) than any other coach in program history. He is a 2004 inductee of the College Football Hall of Fame.

Midshipmen First Class John McLaughlin and John Reuland were selected to be the “12th Mid.” McLaughlin, whose father, Mike, was a three-time All-American (1979-81) for the Navy lacrosse team, will suit up against Delaware next Saturday. Reuland will cover a kickoff Nov.20 against Rutgers.

• BYU 41, Air Force 24: John Beck threw for 319 yards and four touchdowns, and Curtis Brown ran for 128 yards to help Brigham Young (4-4) overcome a sluggish start agains the Falcons (3-4) in Colorado.