The list of NCAA Division I FBS yearly rushing leaders identifies the top players in each season from 1937 to the present. It includes leaders in three statistical categories: rushing yards, yards per carry (YPC), and rushing touchdowns.

NCAA statistics have been kept from 1937 to the present. In 1970, the NCAA officially changed the annual rushing leader to be determined by rushing yards per game rather than total rushing yards; for the purposes of this chart, total rushing yards remain the standard.

To qualify as a YPC leader, a player must have averaged at least 6.25 rush attempts per school game. The 2020 COVID‑19 pandemic season is an exception, as many teams played shortened schedules.

Statistics are traditionally divided into three eras:

Pre-modern statistical era (1937–1955) – National leaders were recorded, but data collection was less standardized, and bowl game statistics were not included in season totals. Modern statistical era (1956–2001) – Season statistics were officially tracked consistently, although bowl games remained excluded from totals. Bowl stats included era (2002–present) – Season totals incorporate both regular-season and bowl game statistics.

Rushing yards

+ Key Symbol Meaning Leader The player who recorded the most rushing yards in college football Yds The total number of rushing yards the player had * Set the single-season rushing yards record

+ College football yearly rushing yards leaders Season Leader Team 1937 1,121* Colorado 1938 831 Fordham 1939 882 Wake Forest 1940 957 Detroit 1941 1,103 Georgia 1942 1,281* Hardin–Simmons 1943 911 Notre Dame 1944 911 Minnesota 1945 1,048 Oklahoma A&M 1946 (2) 1,262 Hardin–Simmons 1947 1,173 Hardin–Simmons 1948 1,570 Texas Mines 1949 1,312 Ole Miss 1950 1,502 Arizona State 1951 1,566 San Francisco 1952 1,372 Tulsa 1953 1,256 Illinois 1954 1,359 Arizona 1955 (2) 1,313 Arizona 1956 1,104 Wyoming 1957 1,126 Arizona State 1958 1,361 Pacific 1959 971 New Mexico State 1960 1,338 New Mexico State 1961 1,278 New Mexico State 1962 (2) 1,247 New Mexico State 1963 1,016 Memphis State 1964 1,044 Wake Forest 1965 1,440 USC 1966 1,329 Idaho 1967 1,415 USC 1968 (2) 1,709* USC 1969 1,659 Long Beach State 1970 1,863* North Carolina 1971 1,881* Cornell 1972 1,386 BYU 1973 1,719 Northern Illinois 1974 1,695 Ohio State 1975 1,957* USC 1976 2,150* Pittsburgh 1977 1,744 Texas 1978 1,859 USC 1979 (2) 2,050 USC 1980 1,781 South Carolina 1981 2,427* USC 1982 1,877 Oklahoma State 1983 2,148 Nebraska 1984 1,764 Ohio State 1985 2,066 Michigan State 1986 1,866 Temple 1987 1,791 Pittsburgh 1988 2,850* Oklahoma State 1989 1,793 Indiana 1990 1,691 Texas A&M 1991 1,805 Indiana 1992 1,630 San Diego State 1993 1,976 Northern Illinois 1994 2,055 Colorado 1995 2,010 Iowa State 1996 (2) 2,185 Iowa State 1997 1,893 Texas 1998 (2) 2,124 Texas 1999 2,034 Wisconsin 2000 2,158 TCU 2001 1,732 Nevada 2002 2,087 Penn State 2003 1,986 Kansas State 2004 2,018 California 2005 1,964 Memphis 2006 1,928 Northern Illinois 2007 2,567 UCF 2008 2,083 Connecticut 2009 1,871 Stanford 2010 1,731 Oregon 2011 1,923 Wisconsin 2012 1,929 Arizona 2013 2,177 Boston College 2014 2,587 Wisconsin 2015 2,219 Alabama 2016 2,133 San Diego State 2017 2,248 San Diego State 2018 2,194 Wisconsin 2019 2,094 Oklahoma State 2020 1,572 Iowa State 2021 1,848 Central Michigan 2022 1,728 Air Force 2023 1,732 Oklahoma State 2024 2,601 Boise State 2025 1,659 Jacksonville State

Rushing touchdowns

+ Key Symbol Meaning Leader The player who recorded the most rushing touchdowns in college football TDs The total number of rushing touchdowns the player had * Set the single-season rushing touchdowns record

+ College football yearly rushing touchdowns leaders Season Leader Team 1937 1938 1939 1940 15* Michigan 1941 1942 17* Georgia 1943 1944 14 Army 1945 16 Army 1946 1947 1948 20* Texas Mines 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 21* Arizona 1955 1956 13 Syracuse Oklahoma 1957 13 Army 1958 15 Rutgers Pacific 1959 13 New Mexico State 1960 23* New Mexico State 1961 21 West Texas State 1962 15 New Mexico State 1963 14 Memphis State Princeton 1964 15 Wake Forest 1965 17 East Carolina 1966 16 Buffalo 1967 15 East Carolina 1968 23* USC 1969 26* Long Beach State 1970 22 North Carolina 1971 28* Long Beach State 1972 20 Ohio State 1973 21 Rutgers 1974 22 Boston College 1975 25 Ohio State 1976 23 Oklahoma State 1977 18 Texas 1978 20 Oklahoma 1979 (2) 22 Oklahoma 1980 20 Southern Miss 1981 22 USC 1982 20 Florida State 1983 29* Nebraska 1984 22 Ohio State 1985 18 Bowling Green 1986 19 Colorado State 1987 18 San Diego State 1988 37* Oklahoma State 1989 24 Indiana 1990 19 Northern Illinois 1991 21 San Diego State 1992 19 Georgia 1993 22 Texas Tech 1994 24 Colorado 1995 24 Ohio State 1996 22 Washington 1997 25 Miami (OH) Texas 1998 (2) 27 Texas 1999 20 Wisconsin TCU 2000 27 Virginia Tech 2001 24 BYU 2002 28 Miami (FL) 2003 21 Texas Virginia Tech 2004 22 Memphis 2005 24 USC 2006 25 Boise State 2007 29 UCF 2008 22 Ball State Michigan State 2009 28 Stanford 2010 22 Northern Illinois 2011 33 Wisconsin 2012 27 Louisiana Tech 2013 31 Colorado State Navy 2014 29 Wisconsin 2015 28 Alabama 2016 27 Western Kentucky 2017 32 Florida Atlantic 2018 24 Clemson 2019 23 Western Michigan SMU 2020 26 Alabama 2021 23 Marshall BYU 2022 20 Pittsburgh Minnesota 2023 27 Michigan 2024 32 Army 2025 25 North Texas

Rushing average

+ Key Symbol Meaning Leader The player who recorded the best yards per carry in college football YPC The total number of yards per carry the player had * Set the single-season rushing yards record

+ College football yearly rushing average leaders Season Leader Team 1937 9.0 Pittsburgh ESPN College Football Encyclopedia, p. 1172. 1938 6.5 Ole Miss ESPN College Football Encyclopedia, p. 1175. 1939 12.2 UCLA ESPN College Football Encyclopedia, p. 1179. 1940 7.2 Lafayette ESPN College Football Encyclopedia, p. 1184. 1941 7.6 Missouri 1942 (2) 7.4 Missouri ESPN College Football Encyclopedia, p. 1188. 1943 6.8 Michigan ESPN College Football Encyclopedia, p. 1193. 1944 11.5 Army ESPN College Football Encyclopedia, p. 1197. 1945 (2) 11.5 Army ESPN College Football Encyclopedia, p. 1201. 1946 7.7 Cincinnati ESPN College Football Encyclopedia, p. 1205. 1947 10.1 Detroit ESPN College Football Encyclopedia, p. 1209. 1948 8.53 Texas Mines ESPN College Football Encyclopedia, p. 1213. 1949 7.6 Miami (OH) ESPN College Football Encyclopedia, p. 1217. 1950 7.5 Alabama ESPN College Football Encyclopedia, p. 1221. Arizona State 1951 8.56 Oklahoma ESPN College Football Encyclopedia, p. 1225. 1952 8.53 Tulsa ESPN College Football Encyclopedia, p. 1229. 1953 1954 7.6 Nebraska 1955 6.28 Arizona 1956 8.4 Auburn 1957 9.6 Arizona State 1958 7.2 Iowa 1959 7.8 New Mexico 1960 8.4 Utah State 1961 7.9 Texas 1962 7.1 Kansas 1963 7.7 Arizona State 1964 6.4 Villanova Penn State 1965 7.7 Arkansas 1966 7.6 Utah State 1967 7.2 West Texas State 1968 7.3 Boston College 1969 8.9 Villanova 1970 7.3 New Mexico 1971 9.0 Oklahoma 1972 7.1 Alabama 1973 (2) 7.9 Alabama 1974 7.8 Texas 1975 8.2 Georgia Tech 1976 6.9 Appalachian State 1977 7.9 Colgate 1978 7.9 Oklahoma 1979 7.8 Chattanooga 1980 7.7 Oklahoma 1981 6.8 Appalachian State 1982 7.8 Oklahoma 1983 8.5 Air Force 1984 8.0 Wyoming 1985 7.5 Nebraska 1986 8.3 Auburn 1987 7.6 Oklahoma 1988 8.5 Houston 1989 (2) 9.6 Houston 1990 7.0 Virginia 1991 8.3 Nebraska 1992 8.0 Notre Dame 1993 7.3 Tennessee 1994 7.8 Penn State 1995 7.7 Nebraska 1996 8.5 Notre Dame 1997 7.4 Colorado State 1998 7.4 Oregon 1999 6.9 Indiana 2000 7.8 New Mexico State 2001 8.2 Alabama 2002 7.7 Kent State Penn State 2003 7.4 Arkansas Texas 2004 7.6 Michigan State 2005 8.7 USC 2006 10.1 Houston 2007 9.2 Florida 2008 8.3 Navy 2009 7.8 Nevada 2010 8.5 Auburn 2011 8.1 Missouri 2012 9.0 Kent State 2013 8.4 UL Lafayette 2014 9.5 New Mexico 2015 8.1 Georgia 2016 9.1 Maryland 2017 9.2 Arizona 2018 8.9 Memphis 2019 7.9 Kentucky 2020 8.0Carter played 11 games and led the group with 156 carries for 1,245 yards. Notable performances in COVID-shortened seasons include Bijan Robinson (Texas, 8.2 YPC in 9 games), Rachaad White (Arizona State, 10.0 YPC in 4 games), and Jake Funk (Maryland, 8.6 YPC in 5 games). North Carolina 2021 7.5 TCU 2022 7.7 Air Force 2023 8.4 LSU 2024 8.3 Marshall 2025 8.8 Louisville

Pre-1937 unofficial data

This chart reflects unofficial rushing statistics before the NCAA started keeping official rushing statistics in 1937, compiled by historians largely from contemporary newspaper accounts. Year Rushing yards Yards per carry Rushing TDs Name Yards Name Yds/Carry Name TDs1936Marshall Goldberg(Pittsburgh) 860 1935Kayo LamNon-major Cumberland's Lindsey Donnell rushed for 1,659 yards(Colorado) 1,043 1934 Kayo Lam(Colorado) 906 Bill Shepherd(Western Maryland) 181933Beattie Feathers(Tennessee) 663 Beattie Feathers(Tennessee)131932 1931Shipwreck Kelly(Kentucky) 1,074 Shipwreck Kelly(Kentucky) 6.3 1930Frank Christensen(Utah) 1,131 1929Lloyd Brazil(Detroit) 1,117 Gene McEver(Tennessee)181928Ken Strong(NYU)2,032 Ken Strong(NYU) 221927 Glenn Presnell(Nebraska)1,448 Joel Hunt(Texas A&M) 191926 Mayes McLain(Haskell) 381925 Peggy Flournoy (Tulane) and Mort Kaer (USC) 191924 Red Strader (St. Mary's) 1,421 1923 1922 1921Red Barron(Georgia Tech) 1,459 1920Jimmy Leech(VMI) 1,723 Buck Flowers(Georgia Tech) 10.2 Jimmy Leech(VMI)261919 Ira Rodgers(West Virginia) 191918 1917Everett Strupper(Georgia Tech) 1,150 Everett Strupper(Georgia Tech) 10.1 Albert Hill(Georgia Tech)231916 1915 Jerry DaPrato(Michigan Aggies) 341914 Buck Mayer(Virginia) 211913 1912Jim Thorpe(Carlisle)1,869 Jim Thorpe(Carlisle)9.8 Jim Thorpe(Carlisle) 291911Jim Thorpe(Carlisle)899 Jim Thorpe(Carlisle)8.0 1910 1909 1908 Jim Thorpe(Carlisle)781 1907 1906 1905 1904 Willie Heston(Michigan) 686 Willie Heston(Michigan) 12.7 Willie Heston (Michigan) 211903 1902 Willie Heston(Michigan)487 Willie Heston(Michigan) 8.7 Al Herrnstein(Michigan) 261901Willie Heston(Michigan) 684 Willie Heston(Michigan) 10.2 Willie Heston(Michigan) 201900 1899 1898 1897 1896 1895 1894 1893 1892 1891 Everett J. Lake(Harvard)391890 Philip King(Princeton) 291889 1888 1887 Snake Ames(Princeton) 201886 Harry Beecher(Yale)33

Leading programs