Oklahoma's Samaje Perine holds the FBS record for single-game rushing yards with 427 yards against Kansas on Nov. 22, 2014. That broke the record that was set one week earlier by Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon.
Here's the complete top-10 list:
Top 10 single-game rushing yards leaders in FBS history
1. Samaje Perine, Oklahoma — 427 yards vs. Kansas on Nov. 22, 2014
A freshman. Perine was a freshman when he made history, topping Gordon's one-week-old record with 427 yards against KU. When adding his 19 receiving yards, Perine's 446 total yards accounted for 81.2 percent of Oklahoma's offense.
2. Jaret Patterson, Buffalo — 409 yards vs. Kent State on Nov. 28, 2020
What makes Patterson's numbers even more impressive is he rushed for 301 yards and four touchdowns just 11 days before his 409-yard outburst. Patterson also tied the FBS record for rushing touchdowns in a game with eight — and he needed only 36 attempts to challenge the record book.
"It wasn't until that night coach sent me a text and apologized. He said he didn't know about the record." 😂@UBFootball Jaret Patterson joins @JonesN4mo and @AdamZuckerCBS to discuss his record-breaking game against Kent State over the weekend. pic.twitter.com/5KkkCX0INQ
— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) December 2, 2020
3. Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin — 408 yards vs. Nebraska on Nov. 15, 2014
Gordon held the FBS record for only a week, needing just 25 attempts to reach his mark and finish with 16.3 yards per carry. Gordon's huge game helped him end up the season with 2,587 rushing yards. That's No. 2 all-time in a single season, trailing only Oklahoma State's Barry Sanders (2,628 in 1988).
4. LaDainian Tomlinson, TCU — 406 yards vs. UTEP on Nov. 20, 1999
Tomlinson held the record from 1999 into 2014, becoming the first FBS player to reach 400 yards in a game. The Horned Frogs star had 70- and 63-yard runs on consecutive carries in the fourth quarter. The next season, Tomlinson led the nation in season rushing yards again and was a Heisman finalist.
5. Tony Sands, Kansas — 396 yards vs. Missouri on Nov. 23, 1991
Sands' busy day concluded with 58 carries against rival Mizzou — an attempt record that still remains. In the second half, Sands had 34 rushes for 240 yards. The 53-29 win was the final game of Sands' Jayhawks career.
6. Marshall Faulk, San Diego State — 386 yards vs. Pacific on Sept. 14, 1991
Playing in his second game with San Diego State, Faulk ran the ball 37 times for 386 yards. That vaulted him toward the first of three top-10 Heisman finishes: 9th in 1991, 2nd in 1992 and 4th in 1993. At the time, the rushing yards were a record and his seven rushing touchdowns against Pacific remain the most by a freshman in a game.
Marshall Faulk rushed for 386 yards on Sept. 14, 1991 against Pacific.
7. Troy Davis, Iowa State — 378 yards vs. Missouri on Sept. 28, 1996
Davis came in second in Heisman voting to Florida's Danny Wuerffel this season, as he rushed for 2,185 yards and 21 touchdowns in 1996. He led the nation in rushing yards in both 1995 and 1996 — and topped 2,000 yards each time.
8 (tied). Anthony Thompson, Indiana — 377 yards vs. Wisconsin on Nov. 11, 1989
Here's another runner-up for the Heisman, as Thompson barely lost to Houston QB Andre Ware (1,073 to 1,003). When his IU career finished, he held the record for career rushing touchdowns, a mark he owned for almost a decade until Texas' Ricky Williams took the top spot in 1998 — other players have since broken his record.
Indiana's Anthony Thompson had 64 career rushing touchdowns in 41 games.
8 (tied). Robbie Mixon, Central Michigan — 377 yards vs. Eastern Michigan on Nov. 2, 2002
In his first three collegiate seasons, Mixon ran for 124 yards, 285 yards and 291 yards. But then he had a huge 2002 season that saw him pick up 1,361 yards. Mixon's 43 carries and four scores led CMU to a 47-21 win against Eastern Michigan.
10. Travis Prentice, Miami (Ohio) — 376 yards vs. Akron on Nov. 6, 1999
Prentice's excellence extended to more than "only" his 376 yards against the Zips. He also went 862 rushes without a fumble — still an FBS record. He later held the career rushing touchdowns record with 73. Since then, Wisconsin's Montee Ball (77) and Navy QB Keenan Reynolds (88) topped that mark.
