College football’s rushing leader was off last week and maintained his sizeable lead over the rest of the field, but there was plenty of shakeup otherwise in the top 10.
Here’s an updated look at the 2026 FBS rushing leaders, counting down from 10 to 1 and ranked by yards per game.
10. Michael Hawkins Jr. [West Virginia, 114.8 YPG]
The only quarterback in the top 10, West Virginia’s Michael Hawkins Jr. has been a major factor with his legs in his first season for the Mountaineers.
The Oklahoma transfer has rushed for at least 100 yards in four out of five games this fall, including a season-high 149 yards with 2 touchdowns on 20 carries Saturday in a 45-42 loss at Iowa State. Hawkins also threw for 227 yards, 2 TD and 0 INTs in that game.
Overall, he has 574 rushing yards and 11 TDs on 6.2 YPC while passing for 836 yards, 7 TDs and 1 INT.
9. Jahiem White [North Texas, 116.4 YPG]
Next on the list is a former West Virginia standout.
Jahiem White transferred to North Texas this year and is off to a strong start for the Mean Green with 582 rushing yards and 8 TDs on a robust 6.9 YPC.
He had his best game of the season in Week 5 with 32 carries for 219 yards and a TD, with a long run of 84 yards, in a 45-44 overtime win at Tulsa last Thursday.
It marked a career-high for White and was his second 200-yard game in four college seasons. Returning from a season-ending knee injury that cost him most of his 2025 season, White is on pace to shatter his previous best mark of 845 rushing yards in 2024 at West Virginia, while his 10 total TDs (2 receiving) is already a personal-best.
8. Turbo Richard [Indiana, 117.4 YPG]
Turbo Richard having a spot on this list is especially impressive considering he missed the second half of Indiana’s Week 4 win over Northwestern with an ankle injury.
Richard returned a week later to rush for a season-high 204 yards and a TD on just 13 carries in a 47-15 win at Rutgers last Saturday. That was easily a career-high for the junior who is on pace for his best season yet.
Richard rushed for 749 yards and 9 TDs last season at Boston College and is already up to 587 yards and 5 TDs in just five games at Indiana. His 9.32 YPC is a 4.1 YPC improvement from last season and is the highest of any college running back with at least 50 carries this season.
7. Aiden Flora [Iowa State, 118.8 YPG]
Aiden Flora is one of the great stories in college football this year.
A walk-on two years ago at Iowa State, he emerged as a key special teams contributor last fall, got put on scholarship before this season and now ranks among the national rushing leaders with 594 yards and 6 TDs for the Cyclones.
Flora had his best game yet in Week 5 with 22 carries for 212 yards and 3 TDs plus two passing TDs in a 45-42 win over West Virginia.
Not bad for a player with 111 career rushing yards over his first two college seasons.
6. Jamal Roberts [Missouri, 121.2 YPG)
While the running back on the other side was getting all the attention leading into Missouri’s Week 5 showdown with Florida, it was the Tigers’ Jamal Roberts who stole the spotlight.
Roberts rushed for a career-high 211 yards and 3 TDs on 24 carries while adding 3 receptions for 29 yards in Missouri’s 45-17 win over then-No. 8 Florida.
That vaulted the 4-1 Tigers up 11 spots in the AP poll to No. 14.
And it vaulted Roberts up the national rushing leaders list as he now has 606 yards and 6 TDs on 5.4 YPC filling in for one of the top rushers from last season, Ahmad Hardy, who continues to recover from an offseason gunshot wound.
5. Jadan Baugh [Florida, 122.6 YPG]
Florida’s Jadan Baugh was the aforementioned headliner in that big SEC showdown in Columbia, Missouri, last week, but he was totally stifled by the Tigers’ stout defense while managing just 13 yards on 12 carries.
That Baugh still ranks fifth on the national rushing leaders list after that game speaks to how dominant he had been otherwise this season with at least 136 rushing yards and multiple touchdowns in every game.
Overall, Baugh has 613 rushing yards and 11 rushing TDs (tied for the national lead) on 6.45 YPC.
4. Torrance Burgess Jr. [Texas State, 122.8 YPG]
Torrance Burgess Jr. is coming off a relatively quiet game in which he was limited to 77 rushing yards and 0 TDs on 22 carries in Texas State’s 31-29 loss at San Diego State.
But Burgess’ overall body of work this season — 614 rushing yards on 7.3 YPC — remains good enough to keep him high on this list.
3. Cam Cook [West Virginia, 130.4 YPG]
That’s right, two West Virginia Mountaineers make the list this week.
Cam Cook, who led the FBS level with 1,659 rushing yards at Jacksonville State last year, is at it again in 2026 with 652 yards and 5 TDs through five games for WVU.
He rumbled for 142 yards and 2 TDs on 20 carries in that loss at Iowa State last week.
2. Dylan Riley [Boise State, 137.0 YPG]
Boise State’s Dylan Riley is the overall rushing leader at the FBS level with 685 yards, but he’s second on the list in terms of yards per carry while playing one more game than the leader.
Riley had a modest 93 yards and 2 TDs on 18 carries last weekend in the Broncos’ 37-18 win over Utah State.
For the season, he’s averaging 6.3 YPC and has 5 TDs.
1. Nate Sheppard [Duke, 161.0 YPG]
Nate Sheppard and the 4-0 Duke Blue Devils had a bye last week, so his stats remain unchanged — and unchallenged atop the rushing leaders list at 161 YPG.
Overall, the superlative sophomore has rushed for 644 yards and 6 TDs on 7.1 YPC with at least 116 yards and a score in every game.
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleÂ
