East Hartford – Coach Bob Diaco put his hands over the face when asked about Navy's powerful and masterfully-executed triple option on Saturday.

It was tough to watch the Midshipmen carve up UConn's American Athletic Conference top-ranked defense.

"It's really something," Diaco said. "It's taxing. It's a central nervous system shock."

A failure to stop Navy's ground attack led to a 28-18 loss in UConn's conference season opener before a season-high 33,204 fans at Rentschler Field. The Huskies fell to 2-2 overall.

Navy (3-0, 2-0), which entered the game as the nation's top rushing team, piled up 303 yards behind talented senior quarterback Keenan Reynolds, who rushed for a game-high 142 yards and three touchdowns and also threw a 19-yard scoring strike.

The Huskies simply couldn't get the Midshipmen (3-0, 2-0) off the field, allowing seven straight third down conversions before finally forcing a punt on the first drive of the third quarter. Navy went 8-for-12 overall and ran the ball 61 times.

"It's difficult," said safety Andrew Adams, who a career-best 17 tackles. "They're led by a four-year starter. ... He runs the offense almost to perfection. We almost have to be at perfection in order to stop them."

UConn is far from perfect but continuing to improve. The Huskies had their share of scoring chances, outgained by only 343-325 yards. They're just coming up short in the execution department.

The Huskies led only once, 3-0, on Bobby Puyol's 38-yard field on the game's opening drive and trailed 21-10 at intermission. They took consolation in outscoring Navy 8-7 in the second half.

"There is some great, great stuff," Diaco said. "We just need to execute better to beat a great team. As coaches, we need to help them do a better job and we will. We are executing better than we ever have but we just need to take that next step.

"I'm proud of the way they fought and we can build off of that."

Navy established its efficient triple-option right on its first possession with a time-consuming 12-play, 62-yard drive that took six minutes, 36 seconds. Reynolds weaved this way through the defense for a 10-yard touchdown run.

The Huskies tried to answer, marching to the Navy 15. Instead of attempting a field goal on fourth and six, they opted to keep the offense on the field. Quarterback Bryant Shirreffs threw an incomplete pass.

The tone was set.

Navy methodically marched 85 yards in 10 plays for a touchdown and 14-3 lead seven minutes into the second quarter. In a bit of a surprise, Reynolds hooked up with a well-covered Jamir Tillman, who made a nice adjustment to catch a 19-yard pass in the end zone. It was Navy's first touchdown pass this season.

"We had to start fast and we didn't," linebacker Junior Joseph said. "When you're behind dealing with that offense, it's hard to get back. It's on the defense."

Perhaps Navy's most impressive drive came right before half. UConn had cut the lead to 14-10 on freshman Tyraiq Beals' first career touchdown reception that covered 39 yards.

Taking over with 3:29 left, Reynolds orchestrated a flawless 14-play drive, started by his 17-yard run. Navy converted three third downs and capped it off with Reynolds waltzing into the end zone from four yards out with two seconds remaining.

"That was huge for us going into the locker room," Reynolds said. "To do that two minute drill ... everyone was poised and calm."

UConn finally started to adjust on defense in the second half but it was too late. Navy never made any crucial mistakes – zero turnovers, only three penalties – to allow a comeback. Reynolds climbed into a second place tie on the NCAA's all-time rushing touchdown list with 73.

Shirreffs threw a six-yard touchdown pass to tight end Tommy Myers with 7:20 left in the game to close out the scoring for UConn. He finished 19-for-32 for 219 yards but was sacked five times. The Huskies leaned heavily on tailback Arkeel Newsome, who had a team-high 69 yards rushing and five receptions for 51 yards. Beals had a career-best for catches (six) and receiving yards (63).

The schedule doesn't get any easier for the Huskies, who visit Brigham Young on Friday night in Provo, Utah. Their confidence hasn't been shaken by two straight losses.

"We think of ourselves as a very good team," Adams said. "We're just looking forward to BYU."

g.keefe@theday.com

Twitter: @GavinKeefe