Sands Tears Up Rushing Record With 396 Yards

Kansas Coach Glen Mason had tears in his eyes after Tony Sands set an NCAA record Saturday with 396 rushing yards. Sands couldn’t hold his back.

“It will be hard to wake up tomorrow and know that I might not see some of these guys the rest of my life,” said the 5-foot-6 senior, who also scored four touchdowns as Kansas beat Missouri, 53-29, for its first winning season in 10 years.

“I’d like to thank each and every one of them for making this day possible. I’m on an emotional high. I feel like I could go out and play another game.”

Sands, who already owned Kansas’ career rushing record, also broke the NCAA record with 58 carries and ended his Kansas career with 3,788 yards. Fifty-seven seconds remained when he went around left end for seven yards and broke the record of 386 yards set Sept. 14 by Marshall Faulk of San Diego State against Pacific.

On his last carry, Sands was stopped five yards short of the goal line with 20 seconds to play. He tied a 68-year-old school record with his four touchdowns and did it all against a team that ranked last among the 106 Division I-A teams in rushing defense.

Sands’ 58 carries broke the record of 57 set in 1977 by Minnesota’s Kent Kitzmann, who got 266 yards against Illinois.

“The guys told me to go out there and try hard and go for it and I told them, ‘I’ll run it if you can open it up,’ ” said Sands, clutching the game ball and wiping away tears.

Always a popular player among teammates, Sands was carried off the field.

“If I’d tried to take Tony out (of the game), you would have seen a coach get mugged on the sidelines,” said Mason, putting his arm around Sands. “I was not in control. They were.”

Of Sands staying in the game to get the record, Missouri Coach Bob Stull said there were no hard feelings. “I think it’s all right,” he said. “Because 10 years from now, no one will ask the question, ‘Should the starters have been in at the end?’ ”

Sands broke Nolan Cromwell’s school record of 294 yards.

Running Wild

Top NCAA Division I single-game rushing efforts:

396 TONY SANDS Kansas vs. Missouri, Nov. 23, 1991 386 MARSHALL FAULK San Diego St. vs. Pacific, Sept. 14, 1991 377 ANTHONY THOMPSON Indiana vs. Wisconsin, Nov. 11, 1989 357 MIKE PRINGLE CS Fullerton vs. New Mexico St., Nov. 4, 1989 357 REUBEN MAYES Washington St. vs. Oregon, Oct. 27, 1984 356 EDDIE LEE IVERY Georgia Tech vs. Air Force, Nov. 11, 1978 350 ERIC ALLEN Michigan St. vs. Purdue, Oct. 30, 1971 349 PAUL PALMER Temple vs. East Carolina, Oct. 11, 1986 347 RICKY BELL USC vs. Washington St., Oct. 9, 1976 347 RON JOHNSON Michigan vs. Wisconsin, Nov. 16, 1968 343 TONY JEFFERY Texas Christian vs. Tulane, Sept. 13, 1986 342 ROOSEVELT LEAKS Texas vs. Southern Methodist, Nov. 3, 1973 342 CHARLIE DAVIS Colorado vs. Oklahoma St., Nov. 13, 1971