A parachutist at the Armed Forces Bowl ended up with an unexpected touchdown prior to the game ... or, perhaps "crash-down" is a more apt term -- since he went down hard after catching on the field goal net.

The wild moment went down before the college football game in Fort Worth, Texas Friday ... when a few parachutists leapt from planes during the flyover to land on the field -- all pretty standard fare for big-time matchups like this one.

While four of the jumpers landed safe and sound, one got a little to close net behind the goal post which keeps balls from landing in the crowd ... stopping his momentum and sending him plummeting to the earth.

Check out the clip ... the jumper loses all steam once he hits the netting -- coming down in a heap upon the ground behind the endzone.

According to WFAA, a local Dallas outlet, the parachutist was able to walk off the field under his own power ... though we're sure he'll be a little sore in the morning.

Rice University's dreams of winning The 23rd Annual Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl crashed about as hard as the parachutist, BTW ... because Texas State smoked Rice 41-10.

Watch out below!