It took a quarter to even get started, but San Diego State running back Donnel Pumphrey broke the FBS record for career rushing yards Saturday in a 34-10 win over Houston in the Las Vegas Bowl.
Pumphrey entered the game needing 108 yards to pass former Wisconsin star Ron Dayne's FBS career record of 6,397 yards. And after closing the first quarter with minus-1 yard on the ground, the Aztecs' diminutive star eventually found the necessary running room for 115 yards on 19 carries to finish his career with 6,405. He broke the record early in the fourth quarter with a 15-yard run.
"It means the world to me, to be able to do this in Las Vegas in front of all my friends and family," Pumphrey, who prepped at Las Vegas Canyon Springs High School, told ABC. "Our coaches did a great job of getting us ready for this game, and our offensive line, they took care of business. From that point on, I was able to hit the holes."
While Pumphrey's career totals include bowl production, Dayne's do not, because NCAA statistics didn't recognize bowl games for purposes of season statistics until 2002. Dayne played at Wisconsin from 1996-1999, and the Badgers played in a bowl following all four of his seasons. Counting bowl appearances, Dayne rushed for 7,125 yards at UW. Dayne, the former eight-year NFL veteran, congratulated Pumphrey via Twitter, but made a hashtag of his bowl-included yardage total:
Pumphrey had a stellar senior year, rushing for 100-plus yards in 11 games, including four of more than 200. He finished the season with an SDSU record 2,133 yards in the most prolific year of his career.
The senior is small by NFL standards (5-feet-9, 180 pounds) but in his only game against a Power Five conference opponent this year, he exploded for 281 yards against Cal with three touchdowns. NFL.com analyst Bucky Brooks evaluated Pumphrey's performance against Cal, and believes an NFL club could target him in the 2017 NFL Draft as a "borderline Day 2 selection."
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