San Diego – Perhaps trying to capitalize on the name recognition factor, Navy running back Reggie Campbell got his campaign for the 2006 Heisman Trophy off to a rousing start Thursday in the 2005 Poinsettia Bowl.
In a performance that this year’s winner, Southern California sensation Reggie Bush, would have been proud to call his own, Campbell scored five touchdowns and accounted for more than 250 total yards in leading the Midshipmen past Colorado State 51-30 at Qualcomm Stadium.
The 5-foot-6, 164-pound sophomore’s output did link him forever with another Heisman winner. Barry Sanders scored five touchdowns for Oklahoma State in the 1988 Holiday Bowl, a record he and Campbell now share with two other players.
“I didn’t know about the record until after the game when someone told me. I just feel honored,” said Campbell, who finished with 116 yards rushing on 16 carries and 89 yards receiving on two catches as well as 85 total yards on four kickoff returns. “Barry Sanders is one of the guys I always looked up to.”
Although he was playing in Bush’s hometown, there seemed to be little else to augur Campbell’s big night. Campbell was Navy’s fifth-leading rusher during the regular season, carrying the football just 41 times and totaling a scant 398 yards – i.e., a good game for Reggie Bush.
At second glance perhaps the comparisons weren’t as far-fetched. Like Bush, Campbell returns kicks, which he did for 28 yards after the Rams kicked off the scoring with a 10-play, 77-yard touchdown march. He finished with 108 yards on kickoff returns. On the Midshipmen’s first play from scrimmage, quarterback Lamar Owens found Campbell – as has been known to happen with Bush – alone behind the defensive secondary. Campbell glided under the throw for a 55-yard touchdown.
Navy’s third scoring drive was more workmanlike – the team moved 80 yards in 11 plays. Campbell once again provided the biggest play, cruising into the end zone on a 22-yard run. The next time the team got the football, Navy moved 89 yards with Campbell once again providing the score, this time on a 2-yard option pitch around left end.
When it was announced in the press box that the Naval Academy record for touchdowns in a game was six, it seemed a bit premature, if not presumptuous. That changed during the third quarter. Campbell returned the second-half kickoff 32 yards. Nine plays later, he scampered 21 yards for touchdown No. 4, giving Navy a 34-10 advantage.
After Colorado State scored twice to threaten an impressive comeback, it was Campbell who emphatically shut the door – scoring on a 34-yard pass from Owens – and put a very early leg up on the likes of Adrian Peterson and Brady Quinn in that race for the 2006 Heisman statuette.
Anthony Cotton can be reached at 303-820-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com.
