Donnel Pumphrey ascends to No. 14 in all-time NCAA rushing during UNLV rout

This past Saturday night at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, Rocky Long's Aztecs, with their strong defense and versatile offense, dominated Tony Sanchez and the UNLV Running Rebels with a 26-7 win at home.

Donnel Pumphrey was the first of a running back one-two punch alongside fellow Aztec Rashaad Penny. The two backs kept UNLV guessing about who would run the ball all night. Both running backs went for over 100 yards apiece- Pumphrey with 31 carries and 141 yards and 1 TD; and Penny with 14 carries, 110 yards, and 1 TD. Their solid rushing helped SDSU control the ball for nearly two-thirds of the game.

Had they been more careful, the Aztecs could have managed a shutout. The break for the Running Rebels came from a fumble by Aztecs Quarterback Christian Chapman that led to a scoop-and-score by the Running Rebels defense. Despite the error, Chapman played a controlled, crisp game overall.

While a shutout would have been nice, a win is a win is a win. How much rebound will the win provide after the 17-point drop by the former #19 ranked Aztecs? We will soon see. The Associated Press hammered SDSU, like a pelt hunter clubbing a baby seal, after their 13-game win streak was snapped by South Alabama. Now the Aztecs will slowly return to the ascent, one slippery step at a time.

To summarize Pumphrey's season so far: he started this season ranked #74 on the all time NCAA rushing list. During five games and a bye, Pumphrey has advanced 60 places having upped his career rushing total to 5,163 yards, and moving from #20 last week to #14 this week on the NCAA career rushing list, just a yard behind Northern Illinois' Garrett Wolfe. After Wolf, next up for Pumphrey at No. 12 is Georgia's legendary Herschel Walker (5,259).

As we have done so weekly, here is where Pumphrey will find himself once he advances for another 150 yards. He stands to become the #10 all time rusher.

We will continue to provide updates on Donnel Pumphrey’s ongoing climb throughout the season.