"What are you doing breaking my record?" the NFL great joked at the start of Monday's interview on Sirius Satellite Radio.

"I apologize," Ball said.

Ball grew up idolizing Rice. He matched Rice's record two weeks ago against Dartmouth, then caught his 51st touchdown pass Saturday with Richmond leading New Hampshire 14-6 in the third quarter. New Hampshire went on to win 27-17.

"The record was a relief for not only myself, but for my teammates, the coaching staff," said Ball, whose team is 5-0 and ranked No. 1 in the I-AA poll for the fifth straight week. "And it gave us a spark. It kind of lifted a weight off of everybody's shoulders."

Rice caught 50 touchdown passes at Mississippi Valley State and went on to break NFL records for career receptions, yards and receiving touchdowns.

"I have heard some great things about you," Rice said. "That you are a total team player and that you practice hard and that you play hard, and I'm a firm believer that if you have a good work ethic, things will pay off for you."