Navy vs. Houston: Score, Highlights and Twitter Reaction

In a Black Friday battle for supremacy in the American Athletic Conference's West Division, the Houston Cougars defeated the No. 15 Navy Midshipmen 52-31 at TDECU Stadium in Houston.

With the win, the Cougars improved to 11-1 on the season and clinched the right to host the AAC Conference Championship Game next weekend, while the Midshipmen fell to 9-2 and suffered their first conference loss of the 2015 campaign.

Junior quarterback Greg Ward Jr. led the way for Houston with 308 passing yards and three touchdowns to go along with 83 rushing yards and another score. 

The biggest key to the team's success, though, may have been the play of junior cornerback Brandon Wilson, who played running back for the first time at the collegiate level and thrived to the tune of 111 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries.

The Cougars' options were limited with star running back Kenneth Farrow out due to an ankle injury, but as Mark Berman of Fox 26 KRIV pointed out, Houston head coach Tom Herman made an innovative and effective decision by inserting Wilson into the lineup:

Houston came out of the gates firing, as their opening drive lasted over five minutes on 13 plays for 82 yards. It culminated in a five-yard scoring strike from Ward to Steven Dunbar.

It didn't take long for Navy to answer, though, as its first play from scrimmage was a 52-yard run by senior quarterback Keenan Reynolds, which set the stage for a four-yard touchdown tote by senior fullback Chris Swain.

The scoring binge continued on Houston's ensuing drive in the form of a 17-yard run to paydirt by Wilson to cap another series that took more than five minutes off the clock.

Navy tied things up once again with just over nine minutes remaining in the first half. The Midshipmen decided to dial up the passing game, as Reynolds connected with Tyler Carmona for 41 yards before throwing a 26-yard touchdown to Jamir Tillman.

With that, Reynolds tied Navy's all-time record with 29 career touchdown passes, per Gene Wang of the Washington Post.

He ended the day with a season-high 312 passing yards, 84 rushing yards and two total touchdowns in the losing effort, and his seasonal stats are impressive as well. The NCAA's all-time leader in rushing touchdowns has 25 total touchdowns in 2015, which prompted John McClain of the Houston Chronicle to suggest him as a Heisman Trophy candidate:

While it seemed as though the momentum was starting to shift in Navy's favor, Houston put a stop to that with its third double-digit-play scoring drive of the first half.

This time, Ward finished it off on his own with one of the most impressive five-yard scoring scamper college football observers will ever see, as evidenced by this video courtesy of ESPN:

The Cougars quickly shut down Navy's running game on the next drive, which was among the biggest storylines of the contest.

Aside from Reynolds' long run early in the game, Houston did well to limit big plays, and Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports praised the manner in which it defended the option:

Houston got the ball back with just 1:30 remaining in the half at its own 29-yard line, but Ward managed to orchestrate a masterful drive down to the Navy 28, with two long scrambles playing a significant role.

Cougars kicker Ty Cummings hadn't made a field goal longer than 37 yards on the season, but he nailed a 45-yarder before halftime to give Houston a 24-14 advantage.

As seen in this graphic from the University of Houston football's official Twitter account, the Cougs dominated in essentially every facet in the first half, including rushing and time of possession, which is rare against Navy:

The Midshipmen got the ball to open the second half, but Reynolds misfired for the first time in the game on Navy's second play from scrimmage, which resulted in senior safety Trevon Stewart intercepting him at the Navy 45.

Houston did well to cash in on the mistake, as Ward completed a six-play drive with a beautiful fade-route touchdown pass to Linell Bonner in the back of the end zone to make it 31-14.

Navy's next drive lasted 11 plays as it continued to pound the rock, but the Midshipmen had to settle for a 39-yard field goal from Austin Grebe after things stalled out.

That pulled Navy to within two touchdowns, but failing to pick up six proved costly, as the Cougars scored another TD three minutes later.

Ward threw his third touchdown pass of the day, but junior wide receiver Demarcus Ayers did most of the work, as he remarkably made a one-handed grab and ran 62 yards for the score, as seen in this video from ESPN's Sam Khan Jr.:

Stewart Mandel of Fox Sports 1 was among those who could barely believe what they witnessed:

The Midshipmen were forced into desperation mode from that point forward, as they trailed 38-17. That was apparent when they went for it on a 4th-and-8 from Houston's 31 on the next drive. They were able to convert it on a pass to Thomas Wilson, and Swain then kept Navy's hopes alive with his second touchdown run of the game to make it 38-24.

The Cougars were pinned down at their own 4-yard line after a penalty on the kick return, but it took them just 3:30 to drive 96 yards for yet another touchdown.

Ayers was once again involved in the scoring play, but this time, the former high school quarterback was the passer, as he threw a 29-yard touchdown to Bonner to put Houston up 45-24.

The never-say-die Midshipmen continued to fight, as they answered once again on the next drive by virtue of a four-yard touchdown run by Reynolds.

While it ultimately didn't spur a comeback, the scoring run was a historic one, as it tied Reynolds with former Wisconsin running back Montee Ball for the most career touchdowns in FBS history with 83, according to the AAC on Twitter.

Navy had a chance to make things interesting, as it trailed by 14, but its defense once again couldn't stop the Cougs, who orchestrated a 12-play, six-minute drive that culminated in a Wilson touchdown run with 41 seconds left to cap the scoring.

Many were down on Houston after it was upset last week by UConn, but the Cougars clearly weren't down on themselves, as they turned in arguably their most impressive showing of the season Friday.

With the victory, Houston is likely one win away from playing in a major bowl game.

The Cougars will host either Temple or South Florida next weekend in the AAC Championship Game, and while neither opponent would be a gimme by any means, Houston will certainly be favored at home.

If Ward and the offense as a whole continue to play like they did against Navy, then Houston may have a legitimate shot to knock off a big-conference team in a significant bowl game to close the campaign.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.