Marshall Faulk should have won the Heisman Trophy but instead it went to a quarterback from a traditional football power in a major conference.
The same thing is probably going to happen to Rashaad Penny. The Aztecs running back is on the short short list of the most explosive players in the nation but even by his standards Saturday night’s performance against Nevada was legendary.
Penny had 429 all-purpose yards, breaking Faulk’s single-game school record, in the Aztecs 42-23 win over the Wolfpack. A quick rundown of Penny’s statistical goofiness:
- 24 carries, 222 yards, 2 TD (From 23 and 67 yards)
- 100-yard kickoff return TD (7th of his career, tying the NCAA record)
- 70-yard punt return TD (He’d never lined up for a punt return in his SDSU career)
Penny leads the nation in rushing and needs another 176 yards in the regular season finale against New Mexico to reach the 2,000 yard rushing mark. Simply put, even if he doesn’t win, he is more than deserving of a trip to New York for the Heisman ceremony.
Whether or not he gets there will be up to the voters who hopefully stayed up late enough to see one of the greatest single-game performances in college football history.
SDSU improves to 9-2 but since Fresno State beat Wyoming 13-7 the Aztecs will not appear in the Mountain West Conference Championship game.
