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NCAA Rushing Record Falls

October 28, 2000 / 10:02 PM EDT / AP

R.J. Bowers of Grove City College broke the NCAA all-division career rushing record a week later than he wanted, and now must wait another week for the next milestone: 7,000 yards.

Bowers, who wears No. 33 in honor of one-time record-holder Tony Dorsett, carried 26 times for 128 yards and three touchdowns against Bethany College on Saturday, giving him 6,999 yards in four seasons.

Bowers' 1-yard gain on a dive play over right guard at 10:27 of the second quarter broke the record of 6,958 yards set by Brian Shay of Division II Emporia State from 1995-98.

"That certainly wasn't the way I envisioned it, a 1-yard run," the 26-year-old Bowers said. "They gave me the ball, but I gave it to our trainer and went back to the huddle. To me, it was just another carry for another yard in another game and let's get on with it. I didn't want to jump around or anything like that."

The majority of Bowers' yards came on a 67-yard run on a trap play on his second carry, a play on which he fumbled but was ruled down by contact. After that, he was neutralized by a Bethany defense which limited him to 19 yards on 12 carries in the second half 11 on a game-winning touchdown run in overtime.

Grove City (4-4) won the Presidents' Athletic Conference game 20-14 as Bowers scored on runs of 3, 1 and 11 yards. In doing so, he set Division III records for career touchdowns (85) and career scoring (538).

Bowers, who played five seasons in the Houston Astros' farm system before returning to football at age 23, now owns NCAA all-divisions records for rushing and career rushing touchdowns (87) and is tied with 15 200-yard games. He owns eight Division III records.

"It really hasn't hit me yet, but I'm sure that on the ride home, I'll say to myself, `I'm the nation's all-time leading rusher,'" said Bowers, of West Middlesex, Pa. "But I won't pinch myself because I'm too beat up for that."

It was the fourth consecutive year Bowers rushed for 100 yards against Bethany (5-4), a small school located in a town of 650 residents in the hills of northern West Virginia, but his second-lowest effort against the Bison. He had 253 yards against them last season and 292 in 1998.

"He's made a living against us," Bethany coach Steve Campos said. "He's just a phenomenal player. We knew he was going to get the record against us, but we put nine people along the line of scrimmage to try to slow him down and we gave up some things to try to stop their running game."

Bowers, who at 6-foot-1 and 238 pounds is as big as many of the non-scholarship linemen trying to tackle him, now had his two lowest-yardage games in consecutive weeks. He was held a season-low 61 yards at home last week by Division II Westminster.

"It's a matter of pride in any team that plays us, the ability to stop him and keep him under the record," Grove City coach Chris Smith said. "Nobody wanted to be he team R.J. set the record against."

On his first carry next Saturday against Carnegie Mellon, Bowers should become the first college player to rush for 7,000 yards. After that, he said, "Everything is just icing, and we can concentrate on winning two more games."

Bowers knows some will question the legitimacy of a record set in Division III, against opponents who play college football not for a scholarship but a desire to play the game. However, he will get the chance to play against top Division I-A players in the Hula Bowl in January.

"I hope I can showcase what I can do," said Bowers, only the seventh Division III player selected to play in the game. "Hopefully, I can compete and can open up some more eyes."

Smith said, "People said to him during his career, `Why don't you transfer to Pitt? Why don't you transfer to Edinboro?' We're just glad he stayed and set the record at Grove City. I like to joke I won't see a running back like him for another 4-5 years, but, really, it's 40 or 50 years."