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ESPN lists Donnel Pumphrey as nation’s top RB in Week 3 re-rank

Check out the news you may have missed from the Mountain West.

New Hampshire v San Diego State Photo by Kent Horner/Getty Images

Check out the news you may have missed from the Mountain West.

ESPN’s Ryan McGee does some reranking and is kind to Donnel Pumphrey.

August Assumption No. 3: Leonard Fournette is the best running back, and it isn't close

Replacement Reality: Donnel Pumphrey

Don't misunderstand here. Fournette is still really good. He racked up 147 yards, two TDs and the year's wickedest stiff-arm against Mississippi State. Over in the SEC East, Nick Chubb isn't bad, either. But San Diego State's Pumphrey is posting otherworldly numbers every week. For those of us old enough to get my earlier Ms. Pac-Man reference, it's crazy how much he reminds us of another SDSU legend, Marshall Faulk. In Week 2 he broke Faulk's school career rushing record. On Saturday at Northern Illinois he broke Faulk's all-purpose yardage mark, running for 220 yards on 23 carries. That gives him 4,871 for his career, leapfrogging Marcus Allen and Thurman Thomas as he jumped from 39th to 29th on the NCAA all-time rushing list. And he also added three TDs, breaking the Mountain West record for career rushing touchdowns at 52. And he now has an NCAA-leading 599 rushing yards on the season with an average of 8.2 yards per carry. And, oh yeah, the Aztecs have now won 13 games in a row, trailing only Alabama's 15 straight. And he seems to be totally digging being the face of the program -- just ask lifelong super-fan Tom Ables, who attended his 773rd Aztecs game on Saturday.

Last look at Week 3 of the Mountain West.

Another late night kick for the Mountain West.

Utah State shows off their new uniforms.

Nevada installs its new court.

Utah State head coach Matt Wells previews its first conference game.