CHADRON, Neb. - There were no new records for Danny Woodhead Saturday, but that mattered little for the estimated 4,100 fans who crammed Chadron State College's Don Beebe Stadium in anticipation of witnessing college football history.

It certainly didn't matter to Woodhead, who rushed for 167 yards and three touchdowns as the Eagles won their 18th straight regular season football game with a 49-0 blanking of New Mexico Highlands.

"We got the win and that's all that counts," said the 5-9, 200-pound tailback from North Platte, Neb.,

What matters to everyone but Woodhead is the next standard likely to fall.

It's a big one, just the career rushing record for all of college football. Woodhead is just 121 yards shy of the 7,353 yards set by R.J. Bowers of Grove City College in Pennsylvania, from 1997-2000.

Fans held their collective breath each time Woodhead took a handoff, hoping maybe he would break down field and add big numbers to his yardage for the day and his career.

But the rushing record will have to wait until at least next week, when the Eagles travel to Silver City, N.M. for their next Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference match-up against Western New Mexico State.

Woodhead owns the all-college career mark for exceeding 200 yards rushing in a game (18) but was considered a longshot to break the record against Highlands. Just the possibility of his breaking the all-time rushing mark had the national media keeping tabs on Saturday's game.

"This is the most important game I've ever kept statistics for," said Justin Haag of the Chadron State information office. "We've gotten calls from all over the country."

Woodhead eschews attention paid to the college football records he's already set, including the all-time Division II rushing record, now at 7,233 yards; and the consecutive games scored mark (36) but his accomplishments have been a boon for Chadron, a town of 5,700 in the northern Nebraska panhandle and for CSC.

Former Chadron State head coach and now full-time athletic director Brad Smith, who recruited Woodhead from North Platte, said coach Bill O'Boyle and his staff has done wonders for Woodhead, and Woodhead has returned the favor.

"They took him and they groomed him. They were patient, but they didn't need to be very patient," said Smith. "About the only thing I did as a coach was not play him the first couple of games or he'd have broken the record by now.

"You can't define when you stop and think of the exposure we've received across the state and now the nation, because of Danny. It's really going to help us in recruiting."

Chadron State College president Janie Park agreed. "This has put us over the top in school spirit," she said.

"We've had a tremendous amount of publicity from Danny's record setting and his Harlon Hill award, and that has helped us. A lot of people have not known where Chadron or Chadron State is, but they know where it is now. You can't buy that kind of exposure," Park said.

Saturday's overflow crowd filled the grandstands, and surrounded Elliott field. T-shirts in the college colors of maroon and white adorned with Woodhead's No. 3 were everywhere. They were flying off the rack at the local Wal-Mart prior to kickoff.

"The crowd can't get too big for us," said CSC head coach O'Boyle. "We came out for pregame, about an hour and 20 minutes before kickoff and the stadium was already almost full. The kids came back in and they were just in awe. What a great day for Chadron State College."

Even the ever-humble Woodhead was impressed with the throng.

"It was an overflow crowd, and that gave us a big boost. It was awesome," he said as he signed dozens of autographs and greeted well-wishers.

Woodhead knows he won't have his contingent of supporters there next week when he likely will break the record, but maybe the memory of Saturday's win will make it that much sweeter.