The college football world will debate who the best running back in the history of the sport is and who had the best Heisman Trophy season for eternity. But what about a factual ranking of the best individual games by a running back?
Here are the 10 players with the most rushing yards in a single game in FBS history.
10 Players With The Most Single-Game Rushing Yards in FBS History
10. Miami (OH) RB Travis Prentice: 376 (1999)
Travis Prentice led the MAC in both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns in 1997, 1998 and 1999. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Allsport/Getty Images)
Prentice had himself a day against Akron, rushing for 376 yards and three touchdowns. He helped the RedHawks get a tough 32-23 home victory. Two of Prentice’s rushing scores went 70-plus yards, while he finished the game with 411 combined yards from scrimmage (376 rushing yards, 35 receiving yards).
T-8. Indiana RB Anthony Thompson: 377 (1989)
Anthony Thompson was a two-time Big Ten Player of the Year. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)
Indiana cruised to a 45-17 road win over Wisconsin thanks to a monumental performance from Thompson. Given the call on the run 52 times, Thompson rushed for 377 yards and four touchdowns. This came in a season where Thompson was the runner-up for the 1989 Heisman Trophy.
T-8. Central Michigan RB Robbie Mixon: 377 (2002)
Robbie Mixon rushed for 1,361 yards and nine touchdowns in 2002. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
Central Michigan had its way with Eastern Michigan on a November day in 2002, dominating on the ground en route to a 47-21 road victory. Mixon rushed for 377 yards and four touchdowns on 8.8 yards per carry.
7. Iowa State RB Troy Davis: 378 (1996)
Running back Troy Davis #28 of the Iowa State Cyclones keeps his eyes focused during a carry against Texas A&M at Cyclone Stadium in Ames, Iowa.
Iowa State defended its home turf against Missouri, 45-31, and Davis rushed for 378 yards and four touchdowns in that game. Davis rushed for a nation-best 2,185 rushing yards and a Big 12-high 21 touchdowns in the 1996 season, earning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year honors.
6. San Diego State RB Marshall Faulk: 386 (1991)
Marshall Faulk led the WAC in rushing yards in 1991, 1992 and 1993. (Photo by Mike Powell/Allsport/Getty Images)
The Aztecs handed the ball off to Faulk, and he did the rest. Rushing for 386 yards and seven touchdowns, Faulk, who was playing in just his second career collegiate game, helped SDSU get a 55-34 win at home over the University of Pacific. In his 1991 freshman campaign, Faulk rushed for 1,429 yards and 21 yards on 7.1 yards per carry, which each led the Western Athletic Conference.
5. Kansas RB Tony Sands: 396 (1991)
Tony Sands led the Big 8 with 1,442 rushing yards in 1991. (Photo by Kyle Rivas/Getty Images)
Kansas put up a 50 spot on Missouri, getting a 53-29 home victory. In what was the 100th all-time meeting between the two programs in neighboring states, Sands ran away with the spotlight — literally — rushing for 396 yards and four touchdowns in what would be his last collegiate game. Sands finished the season with a Big 8-high 1,442 rushing yards.
4. TCU RB LaDainian Tomlinson: 406 (1999)
LaDainian Tomlinson was the No. 5 pick in the 2001 NFL Draft. (Mandatory Credit: Ronald Martinez/Allsport)
The two-time WAC Offensive Player of the Year led TCU to a resounding, 52-24 home victory over UTEP. Tomlinson rushed for 406 yards and six touchdowns, with two of those scores going for 60-plus yards. In what was his junior season, Tomlinson rushed for 1,850 yards and 18 touchdowns on 6.9 yards per carry in 1999, which all led the WAC.
Melvin Gordon was the runner-up for the 2014 Heisman Trophy Award. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
There were a whopping 108 combined passing yards in this ranked Big Ten matchup between Wisconsin and Nebraska. One reason for that was snow. Another reason was a running back on the winning team rushing for 408 yards. Indeed, Gordon rushed for 408 yards and four touchdowns on an astounding 16.3 yards per carry. Gordon, who rushed for a nation-best 2,587 yards and 29 touchdowns in 2014, and the Badgers earned a convincing 59-24 victory.
Jaret Patterson led the MAC in rushing yards in both 2019 and 2020. (Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Buffalo scored 70 points on Kent State and threw for just 148 yards. How could that be? The answer is Jaret Patterson, who rushed for 409 yards and EIGHT touchdowns on 11.4 yards per carry. Patterson went on to rush for a MAC-high 1,072 yards and 19 touchdowns on 7.6 yards per carry in six games in 2020 (the 2020 college football season was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic), helping him earn MAC Player of the Year honors.
Samaje Perine led the Big 12 in rushing touchdowns in both 2014 and 2015. (Photo by William Purnell/Icon Sportswire/Corbis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
It poured, and it didn’t matter: Kansas couldn’t stop Perine. The Oklahoma running back rushed for an FBS-record 427 yards and five touchdowns, with each of his rushing scores going for at least 25 yards. Oklahoma, which only threw for 39 yards, got a thumping, 44-7 home victory. In the 2014 season, Perine, a freshman, rushed for 1,713 yards and 21 touchdowns, which each led the Big 12, on 6.5 yards per carry.
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