LAS VEGAS _ San Diego State's D.J. Pumphrey became the NCAA's all-time rushing leader Saturday afternoon in the Las Vegas Bowl, moving past Wisconsin's Ron Dayne on a 15-yard run against Houston.
Three minutes into the fourth quarter at Sam Boyd Stadium, Pumphrey took a handoff from quarterback Christian Chapman and went around the right side to get the record.
Pumphrey finished the game with 19 carries for 115 yards, giving him 6,405 career yards to Dayne's 6,397. Pumphrey was named MVP in the Aztecs' 34-10 win.
The record appeared out of the question after the first quarter, when Houston's No. 3-ranked rushing defense limited Pumphrey to minus-1 yards on seven carries. Four times Pumphrey was tackled for a loss, including three straight plays during the Aztecs' second series.
The senior from Las Vegas found a spark in the second quarter, however, with a 30-yard run around the left side.
Pumphrey gave SDSU its first lead of the game on a 32-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
He posted his 10th 100-yard rushing game of the season.
Pumphrey was No. 74 on the career rushing list coming into the season with 4,272 yards. He passed 11 Heisman Trophy winners and six NFL Hall of Famers on his rise to the top.
The man calling the plays for the Aztecs during the game was offensive coordinator Jeff Horton, who was on the staff 17 years ago at Wisconsin when Dayne set the record.
"So here I am however many years later with a chance to see somebody break his record," Horton said earlier this week. "I'm very fortunate. I'm glad (Pumphrey) is in our program. He's an unbelievable athlete, an incredible player and in our minds he's the best player in the country."
Horton was asked to compare and contrast Pumphrey, generously listed at 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds, with the 5-10, 260-pound Dayne.
"Two Pumps would equal one Dayne," Horton said. "They're both great competitors. Different styles. Ronnie's a different guy, obviously, but light on his feet. He had good instincts, good quicks.
"(Pumphrey) is a guy that can make people miss, he has lateral quickness and bursts. He really knows how to set defenders up when he's running and he's better along those ways."
It should be noted that Pumphrey benefitted in his pursuit of the record by a statistical inconsistency. The NCAA did not begin including statistics from postseason bowl games until 2002, and it didn't go back to add in bowl stats for those who played before that season.
Dayne, who starred at Wisconsin from 1996-99, played in four bowl games, gaining 200 yards or more in three of them. He totaled 728 yards in those contests. His total with the bowl games included is 7,125 yards.
Including bowl game totals also moves Texas' Ricky Williams (6,530) and Pitt's Tony Dorsett (6,526) ahead of Pumphrey.
According to NCAA accounting, the top four now looks like this: Pumphrey (6,405), Dayne (6,397), Williams (6,279) and Dorsett (6,082).
