Keenan Reynolds at the top of his game with Navy

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — You can debate the best game this season by Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds. Running for seven touchdowns and 240 yards in a triple-overtime win at San Jose State? Three touchdowns rushing and another passing in a four-point loss at Notre Dame?

What is Reynolds' choice?

"I don't know," Reynolds said. "I would say I could have done a lot better in both games. I actually didn't play as well as I would have liked to in Notre Dame, and I started off a little shaky in San Jose.

"I just want my next game to be the best game, and that's been my approach each game and each week."

Next up: Army-Navy on Saturday. In addition to trying to guide Navy to its 12th consecutive win against Army, Reynolds has a chance at personal distinction.

The 5-11, 185-pound sophomore from Antioch, Tenn., who started the final eight games of last season as a freshman, has run for 26 touchdowns this season. The FBS season record for touchdowns in a season by a quarterback is 27, shared by Ricky Dobbs of Navy (2009) and Collin Klein of Kansas State (2011).

"It's just a record. Nothing too big, because at the end of the day my main goal is getting a 'W' on Saturday," says Reynolds, who averages 14.2 points to lead FBS. "So if I break the record, cool. If I don't, oh well, I'm just worrying about beating Army."

Reynolds makes split-second decisions on each triple-option play. Navy coaches trust him to check out of plays at the line of scrimmage after defensive shifts.

In addition to rushing for 1.124 yards (4.5 a carry), Reynolds also has thrown for 1,028 yards and eight touchdowns. He has four turnovers, two fumbles and two interceptions.

It doesn't surprise Ivin Jasper, Navy's offensive coordinator, that Reynolds would find at least some flaws in his games against Notre Dame and San Jose State.

"He coaches himself. He's his own critic. … I mean, he's a perfectionist," Jasper says.

Jasper, in his 14th season at Navy, coached Dobbs and others.

"We've had some great games by a lot of really good quarterbacks," Jasper says. "He (Reynolds) has probably graded consistently the highest that we've had since I've been here. … Every game, he's played smart. … Hopefully, I'm not jinxing him."

Navy Coach Ken Niumatalolo taps his index finger on his noggin when asked about Reynolds' defining quality. "He's as sharp of a quarterback as I've been around," Niumatalolo says. "He's a kid that's got great composure. … The No. 1 characteristic of a quarterback is decision making, and he's as good as I've been around."

In a 17-13 win against Army last season, Reynolds was limited to 43 rushing yards. He lost a fumble in the third quarter. But on the final series, he led an 80-yard drive for the winning touchdown. He hit a key third-down pass, a 49-yarder that set up his 8-yard run for the winning touchdown.

"Obviously, (there was) the magnitude of the game, first Army-Navy game I'd ever been to," he says. "I definitely came out the first couple of drives a little nervous. But once I settled down, I realized it's just a football game."

Last year, Niumatalolo says, Reynolds didn't play like a freshman. This year, he echoes that.

"He's not a sophomore quarterback," Niumatalolo says. "He's way beyond his years as a football player."

"I just want my next game to be the best game."