Boise State’s Dylan Riley still owns the most rushing yards in the FBS, but the real story through Week 5 is how crowded the race has become behind him.
The top of the leaderboard has a little bit of everything right now: a quarterback doing damage on the ground, a former West Virginia back thriving after a transfer, a walk-on turned star, and a handful of backs who have already stacked up eye-popping production in just five games. Nate Sheppard remains the name to beat at the very top of the yards-per-game chart, while Riley leads the nation in total rushing yards with 685.
Here’s where the national rushing leaderboard stands after Week 5:
West Virginia quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. is the lone QB in the top 10, and he’s been a huge part of the Mountaineers’ offense in his first season in Morgantown. The Oklahoma transfer has topped 100 rushing yards in four of five games this fall, including a season-best 149 yards and 2 touchdowns on 20 carries in Saturday’s 45-42 loss at Iowa State.
He also threw for 227 yards, 2 TDs and no interceptions in that game. For the season, Hawkins has 574 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns on 6.2 yards per carry, along with 836 passing yards, 7 TDs and 1 interception.
Another familiar West Virginia name is right behind him. Jahiem White, now at North Texas, has come out hot for the Mean Green with 582 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns on a strong 6.9 YPC.
His best outing came in Week 5, when he carried 32 times for 219 yards and a score, with a long of 84 yards, in North Texas’ 45-44 overtime win at Tulsa last Thursday. It was a career high for White and his second 200-yard game in four college seasons.
After returning from a season-ending knee injury that wiped out most of his 2025 season, White is on pace to blow past his previous best of 845 rushing yards from 2024 at West Virginia, and his 10 total touchdowns, including 2 receiving, are already a personal best.
Turbo Richard is making a big leap of his own. His place on this list is even more impressive considering he missed the second half of Indiana’s Week 4 win over Northwestern with an ankle injury.
Richard came back last week and turned in a monster line: 204 rushing yards and a touchdown on just 13 carries in a 47-15 win at Rutgers. That was a career high for the junior and another sign he’s headed for his best season yet.
Richard rushed for 749 yards and 9 touchdowns last season at Boston College, and now he’s up to 587 yards and 5 touchdowns in just five games for Indiana. His 9.32 yards per carry is a massive jump from last year’s 4.1 YPC increase and stands as the best mark among college backs with at least 50 carries this season.
Aiden Flora has one of the best stories in the sport right now. A walk-on two years ago at Iowa State, he worked his way into a key special teams role last fall, earned a scholarship before this season and is now sitting among the national rushing leaders with 594 yards and 6 touchdowns.
His biggest game yet came in Week 5, when he ran for 212 yards and 3 scores on 22 carries and also threw for 2 touchdowns in Iowa State’s 45-42 win over West Virginia. Before that game, he had never attempted a pass in college.
He also scored the game-winner in the shootout. Not bad for a player who had only 111 career rushing yards across his first two college seasons.
Missouri’s Jamal Roberts also made a major move after a huge performance in Columbia. With all the attention on Florida’s running back heading into the Tigers’ Week 5 matchup, Roberts was the one who took over.
He ran for a career-high 211 yards and 3 touchdowns on 24 carries and added 3 catches for 29 yards in Missouri’s 45-17 win over then-No. 8 Florida.
The Tigers climbed 11 spots to No. 14 in the AP poll, and Roberts jumped with them. He now has 606 rushing yards and 6 touchdowns on 5.4 YPC while filling in for Ahmad Hardy, who is still recovering from an offseason gunshot wound.
Florida’s Jadan Baugh didn’t have nearly the same night in that game. He was held to 13 yards on 12 carries by Missouri’s defense, but he remains fifth on the national rushing list because of how dominant he had been before that.
Baugh had reached at least 136 rushing yards and scored multiple touchdowns in every game leading up to that point. He has 613 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns, tied for the national lead, on 6.45 YPC.
Torrance Burgess Jr. had a quieter outing in Texas State’s 31-29 loss at San Diego State, finishing with 77 rushing yards and no touchdowns on 22 carries. Even so, his season totals still keep him near the top of the board. Burgess has 614 rushing yards on 7.3 YPC.
There are two West Virginia Mountaineers in the mix this week, and Cam Cook is the other one. The former FBS rushing leader at Jacksonville State last year, where he piled up 1,659 yards, has 652 yards and 5 touchdowns through five games for WVU. He ran for 142 yards and 2 touchdowns on 20 carries in last week’s loss at Iowa State.
Riley remains the overall leader in rushing yards with 685, even after a relatively modest day by his standards. He had 93 yards and 2 touchdowns on 18 carries in Boise State’s 37-18 win over Utah State. For the season, he’s averaging 6.3 yards per carry and has 5 touchdowns.
At the top of the yards-per-game chart, Sheppard and undefeated Duke had the week off, so nothing changed there. He still sits at 161 yards per game, and his numbers are as steady as they come: 644 rushing yards, 6 touchdowns and 7.1 yards per carry, with at least 116 yards and a score in every game.
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