Coach Keeps Pringle From NCAA Mark

There were those in the crowd who knew, and they yelled at Gene Murphy, uncertain whether he knew.

First they yelled to inform him, then to convince him. Finally, some jeered.

They chanted Mike Pringle’s name. They wanted him back in the game. He had 352 yards rushing, six short of setting the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. single-game record, and he was on the sidelines.

He stayed there.

The Titan coach knew full well how far Pringle was from the record. And with a minute left in Cal State Fullerton’s 45-10 victory over New Mexico State Saturday at Santa Ana Stadium, he sent in the backup running backs for the final plays.

Pringle was a handful of yards from the most spectacular individual accomplishment in Fullerton football history.

And in a move that was a remarkable show either of stubbornness or fidelity to one’s word, Murphy turned his back.

“I don’t care about the history of Fullerton football,” Murphy said. “I care more about the kids on the sidelines who practice all year and don’t get to play.”

Murphy had kept Pringle in a runaway game well into the fourth quarter, trying to let him get the school record of 301 yards. All the while, Murphy said, he was apologizing to backup Deon Thomas, promising that he would go in as soon as Pringle got the record.

But when Pringle finally broke the record, he complicated the matter. Needing seven yards to break Obie Graves’ school record, Pringle took a pitch to the wide side of the field and raced 67 yards before he was pulled down five yards short of the goal line. By the oddest of coincidences, that left him five yards short of tying the NCAA record of 357 yards set in 1984 by Washington State’s Rueben Mayes against Oregon.

Pringle, winded after the run, left the game, and Thomas lost a fumble at the four two plays later. Fullerton forced the Aggies to punt, getting the ball back for one final possession.

After 31 carries, Pringle was a few paces from a monumental achievement and Fullerton had a rare chance to claim a spot in the NCAA record book.

Murphy sent Thomas in.

“I was angry it took us that long to get the school record,” Murphy said. “I was irritated we had to keep Pringle in so long.”

With Thomas in the game, the crowd chanted for Pringle. On the sidelines, Pringle, not sure himself if Murphy knew how close he was to the record, threw his arms into the air, encouraging them.

“I tried to coax them on to get a little louder,” Pringle said. “I thought, ‘Listen, Coach Murphy.’ ”

Murphy heard, but he wasn’t swayed.

“National records don’t mean crap,” Murphy said. “Going to the Cal Bowl does.”

Fullerton, 4-4-1 overall and 3-2 in the Big West, is not in contention.

Afterward, Pringle said he was not angry, but held out the possibility that falling just short will rankle him later.

“I may think about it a little later,” he said. “It may hit me tomorrow.”

Pringle’s performance, which also set a Big West Conference record and is the third-best total in NCAA history, came against an 0-9 team that has what may be the most deceptive statistic in the NCAA.

The Aggies ranked 23rd in the nation in pass defense, giving up only 166 yards a game.

There is a catch. The Aggies’ rushing defense is so bad, giving up 290 yards a game, that nobody has needed to pass.

Pringle presented particular problems to the Aggies, New Mexico State Coach Mike Knoll said. For one thing, the Aggies don’t have anyone who can simulate him in practice.

“We don’t have anybody who can play No. 27,” Knoll said. “He’s as good as we’ve faced at New Mexico State, and I’m including Ickey Woods.”

Fullerton, a commuter campus where the word rush is most appropriately accompanied by the word hour , has never been a Tailback U.

Before Saturday, there had been only three 1,000-yard rushers in 20 years of Titan football--Graves, Rick Calhoun and Dwayne Sims.

Pringle become the fourth, reaching the 1,000-yard mark on his second carry, a 59-yard touchdown run. By the end of the first quarter, he had 152 yards rushing; by halftime, 219.

At the start of the fourth quarter, he needed 32 yards to set the single-game record, but they were slow coming--far too slow for Murphy.

Pringle finally got the record--one of them anyway.

A coach has all sorts of reasons to keep a player out in such a situation, including the risk of injury and the likelihood of inspiring revenge in the opponent.

But even Knoll said he would have sent Pringle back in the game.

“Very definitely,” Knoll said.

And Thomas, the beneficiary of Murphy’s decision, likewise said he would have given up his few carries.

“I would have given Mike a chance to play to break the record,” Thomas said.

Pringle had to be content with what was.

“I’ve got a school record,” he said. “I’ve got a Big West record. We’ve got two more games. You never know.”

You never know if he’ll get another chance such as the one Murphy didn’t give him.

“It’s his decision,” Pringle said. “And it’s too late now.”

ONE--GAME LEADERS NCAA Division I single-game rushing: 357 Rueben Mayes, Washington State vs. Oregon, Oct 27, 1984 356 Eddie Lee Ivery, Georgia Tech vs. Air Force, Nov. 11, 1978 352 Mike Pringle, Cal State Fullerton vs. new Mexico State, Nov. 4, 1989 350 Eric Allen, Michigan State vs. Purdue, Oct 30, 1971 349 Paul Palmer, Temple vs. East Carolina, oct 11, 1986