Three weeks into the 2026 college football season, the rushing race already has a clear name at the top. Duke sophomore Nate Sheppard isn’t just leading the country - he’s separating himself.
Sheppard has piled up 176 rushing yards per game, a margin that sits more than 23 yards ahead of anyone else in the nation. His 528 rushing yards are the most of any player, even when compared with those who have already logged an extra game. Through three games, he has also scored eight total touchdowns.
He kept the production rolling in Week 3, going for 154 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries in Duke’s 35-7 win over Stanford. He also added a receiving touchdown. After a true freshman season that included 1,132 rushing yards and 11 scores, Sheppard is tracking toward an even bigger 2026.
The rest of the top 10 saw plenty of movement after last weekend, with several new faces breaking into the national leaderboard.
BYU’s LJ Martin entered the top 10 for the first time this season after a huge showing in the Cougars’ 41-23 win at Colorado State. He ran for 176 yards and three touchdowns, opening the game with a 56-yard scoring burst in the first minute. Martin, who rushed for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns last season, has 328 rushing yards and three scores through three games for No. 9-ranked BYU, averaging 7.8 yards per carry.
Iowa State’s Aiden Flora also cracked the national top 10 after taking over as a major part of the Cyclones’ offense. The redshirt sophomore and former walk-on had totaled just 111 rushing yards over his first two seasons, but he now has 328 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 38 carries, good for 8.6 yards per rush.
His best game came Saturday, when he ran for a career-high 194 yards and two touchdowns on only 12 carries in a 55-7 win over Bowling Green. He also added 10 receiving yards and scored three different ways, including touchdown runs of 61 and 42 yards and a 66-yard punt return touchdown.
Nebraska true freshman Jamal Rule is another newcomer making noise. He has rushed for 329 yards at 8.7 yards per carry through three games, while adding 82 receiving yards and six total touchdowns. In Week 3 against North Dakota, he finished with 119 rushing yards and two scores on 15 carries, plus two catches for 35 yards.
Texas State running back Torrance Burgess Jr. is also in the mix after a career day against North Texas. The fifth-year back has 397 rushing yards through three games, already his second-best season total behind the 620-yard year he put together at UTEP in 2023. On Saturday, he had the best game of his career, going for 214 yards on 25 carries in Texas State’s 49-35 win.
Florida’s Jadan Baugh turned loose in the SEC opener and made the most of it. After being held to 14 carries in each of the Gators’ first two non-conference games, the junior got 26 carries at Auburn and turned them into 162 yards and three touchdowns in a 44-39 road win. He now has 458 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 8.5 yards per carry, building on his 1,170-yard, eight-touchdown breakout last season.
Boise State’s Dylan Riley stayed on the national leaderboard after another big Week 3 performance. He ran for 198 yards and two touchdowns on a season-high 26 carries in the Broncos’ 38-24 win over South Dakota.
Riley has 454 rushing yards and two touchdowns through three games, with 404 of those yards coming over the last two weeks. He followed a breakout 2025 season that featured 1,125 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns.
Navy quarterback Braxton Woodson remains in the race on a yards-per-game basis despite the Midshipmen having played only two games. He has 296 rushing yards and four touchdowns so far.
Woodson left Navy’s last game two weeks ago with an ankle sprain and was considered week to week. Navy returns to action Friday night at UAB.
UCLA’s offense has taken off under new coach Bob Chesney, and former James Madison star Wayne Knight is driving much of it. The Bruins are averaging 286.7 rushing yards per game, fifth-best in the country, and Knight has fit right in with 345 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 8.8 yards per carry during UCLA’s 3-0 start.
His biggest game came in Saturday’s 52-38 win over Purdue to open Big Ten play, when he rushed for a season-high 177 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries and added 23 receiving yards. Knight rushed for 1,373 yards and nine touchdowns, while also catching 397 yards and one score, in James Madison’s College Football Playoff run last year.
Memphis running back Jaylin Carter held onto his spot in the top 10 by the narrowest of margins after a quieter day against UT Martin. He had 62 yards on 12 carries in the Tigers’ 45-21 win, his least productive game of the season, though he did score on a 17-yard receiving touchdown.
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Nebraskas Big Ten Opener Puts Its Fast Start Under Real Pressure
Nebraskas fast start is about to get a different kind of test as Big Ten play opens against Michigan State, with the Huskers installed as 5.5-point favorites. The matchup brings a sharper edge than the early-season schedule, especially for a Nebraska team that has leaned on its rushing offense, gotten key work from special teams and needs its quarterback to keep operating behind solid protection.
Michigan State has also shown signs of improvement under coach Pat Fitzgerald, which makes this less of a routine conference opener than the record might suggest. The numbers point to a game Nebraska should be able to control if it keeps winning in the trenches and avoids self-inflicted trouble, but the gap between a promising start and a real Big Ten statement is exactly what this weekend is about. [Read more 🡒]