RENO, Nev. – With a 14-yard completion in the first quarter on Saturday night, Nevada senior quarterback Cody Fajardo accomplished a statistical feat that only one other player in the history of college football has ever done.
With the pass, Fajardo moved over the 9,000-yard mark in career passing and is just the second player ever to pass for 9,000 yards and rush for 3,000 yards in a career. The only other player to ever hit those milestones in the history of the game happens to be another Nevada star, current 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
“It’s pretty awesome to know that I have done some things that a lot of college quarterbacks haven’t done,” Fajardo said after Nevada’s 30-14 win over San Diego State on Saturday night. “To be mentioned in same group as Kap is always awesome for me, because he’s been my role model and the guy I looked up to. The fact that it is him and I up there in that record, it’s pretty special.”
Fajardo took over as the starter at Nevada in his redshirt season in 2011 after Kaepernick led Nevada to a 13-1 mark and a No. 11 ranking as a senior in 2010.
“I am very proud of Cody for this incredible achievement,” second-year Nevada coach Brian Polian said. “To join Colin Kaepernick as the only two FBS quarterbacks to amass 9,000 yards passing and 3,000 yards rushing in a career speaks to his talent, his durability, and his desire to compete.
“However, the numbers are overshadowed by Cody as a person. He has been a great teammate and leader and it has been our privilege to coach him.”
Nevada reached bowl eligibility for the ninth time in the past 10 years with Saturday night’s comeback win over San Diego State. With three regular season games left, plus a potential Mountain West championship game and bowl game, Fajardo has 9,084 passing yards and 3,025 rushing yards in his Wolf Pack career. His career rushing yards currently ranks 17th all-time in NCAA history.
The come-from-behind win was the third straight such win for Nevada, who came back to win at BYU and Hawai`i in previous weeks. The Wolf Pack is now 6-3 overall and 3-2 in the MW. Nevada is tied for first in the West Division and controls its destiny with three games remaining after this week’s bye.
Fajardo also topped the 12,000-yard mark in total offense last night, becoming just the second player in school history to hit the milestone. Colin Kaepernick, who played at Nevada from 2007-10, passed for 10,098 yards and rushed for 4,112 rushing yards in his career.
