Rashaad Penny Earns Fourth Straight MWC Offensive Award
On Monday, the Mountain West Conference announced that San Diego State running back Rashaad Penny had won the conference's offensive player of the week award for the fourth consecutive week. The 5-foot-11 inch, 220-pound Penny has now won five MWC awards in the season's first four weeks, as he also took home the conference's special teams player of the week honor for his performance in week 2 at Arizona State.
Penny was once again at the forefront of the offensive attack for the Aztecs on Saturday night against Air Force. His first accomplishment came on his first carry of the game, when he became just the 14th Aztec in school history to rush for over 2,000 yards in his career. That was the highlight of the quarter for the Aztecs, who got off to a slow start in monsoon-like conditions. They ended up falling behind 9-0 early on in the second quarter. The game was then delayed a few minutes later due to lightning in the area.
Following the delay, Penny ran in a two-yard touchdown to get San Diego State on the board with 5:55 to go in the first half. In the third quarter, Penny took a handoff and jogged into the end zone from twenty yards out to give his team the lead.
The Norfolk native's final touchdown of the night proved to be the deciding blow. With San Diego State down by three points and less than six minutes left in regulation, Penny scampered 53 yards for what ended up being the game-winning score. The senior running back finished the game with 128 rushing yards and three touchdowns, and also led all players with three receptions for 18 yards.
Up to this point in the season, Rashaad Penny has rushed for 716 yards, trailing only Stanford's Bryce Love. He is also second in the FBS in rushing touchdowns (7).
https://twitter.com/Aztec_Football/status/912349493923684352
With Saturday's victory, the Aztecs won their first game as a ranked team in 40 years. The win earned them a bump up this week in both the AP poll (where they are now No. 19) and the Coaches Poll (No. 21). They now return home to play against Northern Illinois (2-1) on Saturday night. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 PM PT.
