There reaches a point when you witness excellence long enough that you become numb to it. From the perspective of a seasoned D.J. Pumphrey watcher like me, tonight didn’t really feel like the kind of dazzling performance we’ll be recounting years from now. There were no 75-yard touchdown sprints down the sideline or 50-yard bursts up the gut. In fact, his biggest gainer was a mere 22 yards.
Then you look at the stats and see Pumphrey went for 220 yards and two scores. It’s then that you can realize what spoiled twits we are to not be in total awe.
I mean:
College football started in 1869* when Rutgers played Princeton, with the winner probably getting Ye Olde Can of Sperm Whale Oil. Of the thousands and thousands of players who have played since, the number of guys with more yards rushing than Pumphrey can squeeze into a Chevy Suburban. Tonight he outstripped† the collegiate accomplishments of the only two-time Heisman winner, one of the greatest pure athletes of all time and a San Diego sports icon.
While he didn’t bust off any particularly memorable runs, per se, it was a pretty fitting performance for such a milestone night. Pumphrey was lightly recruited out of high school because of his size, and even after his first season at SDSU people doubted he’d have the toughness or durability to make it as a featured back. So it was only natural that he’d ascend past three legends by carrying the ball 38 times and gaining chunks of yardage after contact.
Of course he did.
*nice
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Scenes from a D.J. Pumphrey touchdown run.
LOL
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Oh yeah, did I mention the San Diego State Aztecs beat Fresno State 17-3? They did! It was their 13th consecutive conference win and second consecutive dominant, if not quite blowout, performance. SDSU gained 146 more yards than the Bulldogs, had 15 more first downs and held the ball for nearly 15 more minutes.
The defense was excellent again. Fresh off a 169-yard effort against Nevada, Bulldogs running back Dontel James managed just 34 yards on 15 carries. And facing a team that boasts a stable of talented wideouts, SDSU allowed little through the air, and snagged three interceptions. Granted, one of them was thrown by a punter but nobody needs to know that so just shut up about it, OK?
On offense, SDSU dominated in the trenches. Generally, when Christian Chapman throws 12 times all game, you know Jeff Horton’s offense is working as planned. That was the case tonight, as it seemed like the Aztecs could gain 7 yards or more on the ground almost at will.
It was Aztecs football. Sure there could have been more style points – and points in general – but the game was never really in doubt.
Also, the clock kept rolling, which means I will get to bed at a reasonable hour. Thank you Rocky and Jeff for respecting my circadian rhythms with your tough guy footbaw.
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This was a good and true tweet.
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Seriously, what the hell has happened to Tim Deruyter’s program? Fresno State is now 10-22 since Derek Carr left for the NFL and now appear a mortal lock to notch three consecutive losing seasons for the first time since the mid-90s.
I mean, it’s cool to retain the Oil Can and all, but it would be nice if we didn’t need to reach into a flaming dumpster to get our hands on it. Get it together, Bulldogs.
Keep losing to us, though. That part’s cool.
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SDSU now moves to 5-1 for the first time since 1977. This factoid comes courtesy of the Elias Bureau of Super Sad and Depressing Statistics. Let us never speak of it again.
KABEER THIRTY 