San Diego State Football: 3 takeaways from victory over N. Illinois
3. Rashaad Penny is still a force to be reckoned with
San Diego State Aztecs running back Rashaad Penny didn’t have an explosive night on the ground, but that’s okay. He even survived an eye-poke and managed to find the end zone through the air.
Penny finished the game with 107 rushing yards on 25 carries. It was Penny’s fifth-straight game with over 100 rushing yards.
He didn’t score a rushing touchdown, but he did have two receptions for 32 receiving yards and a touchdown reception. Penny has 14 receptions for 119 receiving yards and two touchdown receptions this season.
Rashaad Penny with the TD reception after the fumble recovery! #OneCityOneTeam #Win22 pic.twitter.com/FEgPrJESEs
— San Diego State Football (@AztecFB) October 1, 2017
On the ground, Penny has run for 823 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns. He trails Stanford Cardinal running back Bryce Love as the top rusher in the FBS. Love has 1,088 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns for the Cardinal so far in 2017.
As the nation’s second-leading rusher, Penny hasn’t gotten much attention yet but with conference play looming, he has an opportunity to make a name for himself. He is currently averaging 164.6 rushing yards per game.
Next: Complete First Round Mock Draft after Week 5
Penny has replaced running back Donnell Pumphrey nicely. Pumphrey led the FBS in rushing yards last season with 2,133 rushing yards. He’s close to 1,000 rushing yards already. He could join the 2,000 yard rushing club alongside Pumphrey.