SAN DIEGO » San Diego State coach Rocky Long isn’t the type to gush over players or any aspect of his team mid-season.
So when the question "What do the Aztecs still have to work on?" was posed to him after SDSU’s 20-10 win over Hawaii at Qualcomm Stadium on Saturday night, the coach reeled off a long list that included just about every aspect of play.
One notable omission: the running game.
SDSU’s potent ground attack has been its biggest weapon through seven games, and sophomore running back Donnel Pumphrey the Aztecs’ savior.
Pumphrey went into the game with 807 rushing yards this season, 11 rushing touchdowns and an average of 6.8 yards per carry.
With a not completely healthy Quinn Kaehler making his first start at quarterback since he sprained his shoulder in the Aztecs’ Sept. 27 win over UNLV, the Aztecs once again needed Pumphrey’s nimble feet to run them out of trouble against Hawaii.
The Aztecs (4-3 overall, 3-1 Mountain West) outrushed Hawaii 283 to 90, and with the win, they now sit atop the Mountain West’s West Division standings.
Pumphrey scored the Aztecs’ first touchdown — a 10-yard run on the opening drive — and finished the game with 182 rushing yards on 25 carries, with an average of 7.3 yards per attempt.
"He makes it pretty easy for me," said Kaehler, who went 13-for-24 for 174 yards and a touchdown. "It makes it really easy. We can move our offense if I’m struggling with the pass game and still be successful."
Against Hawaii, the game-breaker came in the fourth quarter, with SDSU up 17-10 and less than nine minutes remaining.
On second-and-5 from the Aztecs’ 38, Pumphrey took the handoff and sped right. He ducked out of an attempted tackle by defensive back Taz Stevenson, but had the body control to stay on his feet even as his right hand touched the ground and his right knee bent to absorb the impact, stopping inches from the turf.
Then, he was gone, zipping away in the other direction to reel off a 47-yard run to the Hawaii 17.
"It was a broken play. I just had to keep my balance," Pumphrey said.
Long interjected, "Most of the great running backs don’t know how (plays) happened."
The diminutive 5-foot-9, 170-pound back is only a sophomore, but he’s already make an impact on the Aztecs’ record books. It was Pumphrey’s fifth 100-yard game of the season, and eighth of his career.
He made it look easy in the end despite the best efforts of Hawaii’s defense, which limited SDSU to 120 rushing yards at halftime, but couldn’t stop Pumphrey down the stretch — 125 of his 182 yards came in the second half.
"We had more difficulty running the ball because their front seven was pretty good," Long said. "I thought the game was over after Pumphrey broke the one where he kept his hand down, kept his balance and went down there and got us close to the end zone.
"He’s a talented young guy, and as long as the big boys up front will block for him, he’ll have good days every week," Long said.
Pumphrey also had a little extra motivation Saturday night. For the first time in his Aztecs career, his 2-year-old daughter flew in from Las Vegas with his family to watch him play.
"It was a motivation for me, but I’m just happy we got the win," Pumphrey said.
