Las Vegas Bowl team history: Marshall Faulk’s fast feet

Leading up to the Las Vegas Bowl between Houston and San Diego State, the Review-Journal will provide glimpses into each school’s football history. We’ll take a look at each school once per day until game day Saturday at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Marshall Faulk’s fast feet

Dates: 1991-1993

The biggest star in San Diego State history didn’t take long to make an impact.

Running back Marshall Faulk set an NCAA record by rushing for 386 yards on 37 carries in his second game as a freshman against Pacific. He also scored seven touchdowns, a record for a freshman.

Faulk went on to rush for 1,429 yards as a freshman and 1,630 as a sophomore. Then, as a junior, he began to showcase the versatility that led to his enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, rushing for 1,530 yards while catching 47 passes for 644 yards.

He scored 21 rushing touchdowns that season and three as a receiver. Faulk left for the NFL following his junior year after amassing 5,562 total yards and 62 career touchdowns. He never won the Heisman Trophy but finished ninth in the voting as a freshman, second as a sophomore and fourth as a junior.

Despite staying in school only three years, Faulk still ranks 14th all time in career touchdowns from scrimmage and 27th in career yards from scrimmage. His all-purpose skill set later became the engine of the St. Louis Rams’ “Greatest Show on Turf” offense, which won Super Bowl XXXIV.

Ben Gotz can be reached at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.