most rushing yards by a freshman in a single college football season

Jonathan Taylor has the most rushing yards by a freshman in a season, with 1,977 yards in 2017.

Showing

Assumption:All-time
Data note: Rushing Yards: player season data complete from 1956

	NAME	RUSH YDS	SEASON	TM	GP	ATT	YPC	RUSH YDS/G	RUSH TD	REC YDS	REC	TRG	AVG	REC YDS/G	REC TD
1	Jonathan Taylor J. Taylor	1,977	2017	WIS	14	299	6.6	141.2	13	95	8	14	11.9	6.8	0
2	Ron Dayne R. Dayne	1,863	1996	WIS	12	295	6.3	155.3	18	133	14		9.5	11.1	0
3	Lew Nichols L. Nichols	1,848	2021	CMU	13	341	5.4	142.2	16	338	40	52	8.5	26.0	2
4	Samaje Perine S. Perine	1,713	2014	OKLA	13	263	6.5	131.8	21	108	15	16	7.2	8.3	0
5	Herschel Walker H. Walker	1,616	1980	UGA	11	274	5.9	146.9	15	70	7		10.0	6.4	0
6	AJ Dillon	1,589	2017	BC	13	300	5.3	122.2	14
7	Quinshon Judkins Q. Judkins	1,567	2022	MISS	13	274	5.7	120.5	16	132	15	20	8.8	10.2	1
8	Jarvion Franklin J. Franklin	1,551	2014	WMU	13	306	5.1	119.3	24	168	15	18	11.2	12.9	1
9	Nick Chubb N. Chubb	1,547	2014	UGA	13	219	7.1	119.0	14	213	18	21	11.8	16.4	2
10	Javian Hawkins J. Hawkins	1,525	2019	LOU	13	264	5.8	117.3	9	58	4	8	14.5	4.5	0
11	Sean Tucker S. Tucker	1,496	2021	SYR	12	246	6.1	124.7	12	255	20	27	12.8	21.3	2
12	Kenneth Gainwell K. Gainwell	1,459	2019	MEM	14	231	6.3	104.2	13	610	51	60	12.0	43.6	3
13	Caleb Hawkins C. Hawkins	1,434	2025	UNT	13	231	6.2	110.3	25	370	32	39	11.6	28.5	4
14	J.K. Dobbins	1,403	2017	OSU	14	194	7.2	100.2	7	135	22	26	6.1	9.6	1
15	Rasheen Ali R. Ali	1,401	2021	MRSH	13	250	5.6	107.8	23	334	45	57	7.4	25.7	1
16	Jermar Jefferson J. Jefferson	1,380	2018	ORST	12	239	5.8	115.0	12	147	25	31	5.9	12.3	0
17	Makhi Hughes M. Hughes	1,378	2023	TULN	14	258	5.3	98.4	7	67	11	12	6.1	4.8	0
18	Nick Wilson N. Wilson	1,375	2014	ARIZ	13	236	5.8	105.8	16	90	12	15	7.5	6.9	1
19	Royce Freeman R. Freeman	1,365	2014	ORE	15	252	5.4	91.0	18	158	16	17	9.9	10.5	1
20	Ahmad Hardy A. Hardy	1,351	2024	ULM	12	237	5.7	112.6	13	72	8	10	9.0	6.0	0
21	Emmitt Smith E. Smith	1,341	1987	FLA	11	229	5.9	121.9	13	184	25		7.4	16.7	0
22	Mike Warren M. Warren	1,339	2015	ISU	12	227	5.9	111.6	5	70	14	23	5.0	5.8	0
23	Spencer Brown S. Brown	1,329	2017	UAB	13	250	5.3	102.2	10	42	4	4	10.5	3.2	0
24	Myles Gaskin M. Gaskin	1,302	2015	WASH	13	227	5.7	100.2	14	19	6	10	3.2	1.5	0
25	Allen Harvin A. Harvin	1,283	1978	CIN	11	233	5.5	116.6	6	150	21		7.1	13.6	1

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More Wisconsin Stats

Team Leaders

PASS

1,346

Joseph

RUSH

371

Joseph

REC

397

Henry

Team Rankings

PPG

23.6

103rd

OPP PPG

17.1

23rd

RUSH YDS/G

138.4

113th

PASS YDS/G

179.9

142nd

2026 Big 10 Standings

	TEAM	CONF	OVERALL
8	Oregon	3-2	5-3
9	Northwestern	3-2	6-2
10	Wisconsin	3-2	5-3
11	Washington	2-3	5-3
12	Michigan	2-3	5-3

Schedule

DATE	MATCHUP			TIME (ET)
Sat 11/7	RUTG	@	WIS	4:15 PM
Sat 11/14	WIS	@	MD	12:00 PM
Sat 11/21	WIS	@	PUR	1:00 PM
Fri 11/27	MINN	@	WIS	7:30 PM

Last Game

Wisconsin

5 - 3

Final

Iowa

6 - 2

Sat 31 Oct 2026

CFB 2026 Leaders

Pass Yards Leaders

2,977

Atkinson

2,649

Mestemaker

2,577

Jackson

Rush Yards Leaders

1,054

White

1,049

Riley

1,005

Roberts

Rec Yards Leaders

1,110

Legree

1,067

Smith

1,027

Toney

Pass TD Leaders

25

Stokes

25

Atkinson

25

Mensah

Rush TD Leaders

17

Hellums

16

Hawkins

14

Sheppard

Rec TD Leaders

14

Legree

13

Toney

13

Smith

QB Rating Leaders

202.7

Mensah

184.5

Sayin

178.5

Stokes

Sack Leaders

10.5

Simmons

10.0

Osunsanmi

9.0

Bradley

CFB 2026 Rankings

PPG Rankings

47.6

43.8

41.1

41.0

40.4

Opp PPG Rankings

11.9

12.4

12.5

13.4

Total Yards Rankings

540.5

534.9

529.6

517.4

514.0

510.0

Rush Yards Rankings

342.5

341.0

295.8

271.4

261.6

250.8

Pass Yards Rankings

383.4

348.9

338.8

332.4

329.6

324.1

Sack Leaders

35.0

34.0

32.0

31.0

27.0

CFB 2026 Standings

	Pac-12	W	L	PCT
1	Boise State	7	1	.875
2	Oregon State	5	3	.625
3	San Diego State	4	5	.444
4	Texas State	4	4	.500
5	Fresno State	5	3	.625
6	Utah State	3	5	.375
7	Colorado State	3	5	.375
8	Washington State	1	8	.111

	Big 10	W	L	PCT
1	UCLA	8	0	1.000
2	Indiana	8	1	.889
3	Ohio State	6	2	.750
4	USC	7	2	.778
5	Illinois	5	3	.625
6	Minnesota	5	3	.625
7	Iowa	6	2	.750
8	Oregon	5	3	.625
9	Northwestern	6	2	.750
10	Wisconsin	5	3	.625
11	Washington	5	3	.625
12	Michigan	5	3	.625
13	Nebraska	5	3	.625
14	Purdue	3	5	.375
15	Penn State	4	4	.500
16	Rutgers	2	6	.250
17	Maryland	2	6	.250
18	Michigan State	2	6	.250

	Southeastern	W	L	PCT
1	Georgia	7	1	.875
2	Kentucky	7	1	.875
3	Alabama	6	2	.750
4	Ole Miss	6	2	.750
5	Texas	6	2	.750
6	LSU	6	2	.750
7	Missouri	6	2	.750
8	Tennessee	6	2	.750
9	South Carolina	5	3	.625
10	Florida	5	3	.625
11	Oklahoma	4	4	.500
12	Auburn	4	4	.500
13	Mississippi State	4	4	.500
14	Texas A&M	4	4	.500
15	Arkansas	3	5	.375
16	Vanderbilt	3	5	.375

	Conference USA	W	L	PCT
1	Liberty	7	1	.875
2	Jacksonville State	6	2	.750
3	Delaware	4	4	.500
4	New Mexico State	3	5	.375
5	Middle Tennessee	4	4	.500
6	Western Kentucky	3	5	.375
7	Missouri State	3	5	.375
8	Florida International	3	5	.375
9	Kennesaw State	2	6	.250
10	Sam Houston	1	7	.125

	Sun Belt	W	L	PCT
1	Louisiana Tech	6	2	.750
2	Appalachian State	5	3	.625
3	South Alabama	4	4	.500
4	James Madison	7	2	.778
5	Louisiana	5	3	.625
6	Georgia Southern	4	4	.500
7	Arkansas State	4	4	.500
8	Coastal Carolina	3	5	.375
9	Troy	4	4	.500
10	Georgia State	4	4	.500
11	Southern Miss	3	5	.375
12	Marshall	5	3	.625
13	Louisiana-Monroe	1	7	.125
14	Old Dominion	2	7	.222

	Atlantic Coast	W	L	PCT
1	Miami	8	0	1.000
2	Wake Forest	7	1	.875
3	Louisville	5	3	.625
4	SMU	6	2	.750
5	Virginia Tech	6	2	.750
6	Duke	6	2	.750
7	Clemson	5	3	.625
8	Pittsburgh	6	3	.667
9	Boston College	4	4	.500
10	NC State	4	4	.500
11	North Carolina	4	4	.500
12	Virginia	4	5	.444
13	California	3	6	.333
14	Syracuse	4	4	.500
15	Stanford	4	5	.444
16	Florida State	3	5	.375
17	Georgia Tech	2	6	.250

	Mountain West	W	L	PCT
1	New Mexico	7	1	.875
2	Wyoming	5	3	.625
3	UNLV	5	3	.625
4	North Dakota State	7	2	.778
5	Air Force	6	2	.750
6	Nevada	3	5	.375
7	San Jose State	4	5	.444
8	Hawai'i	2	6	.250
9	UTEP	1	7	.125
10	Northern Illinois	0	8	.000

	Independent	W	L	PCT
1	Notre Dame	7	1	.875
2	UConn	4	4	.500

	Mid-American	W	L	PCT
1	Ohio	6	2	.750
2	Western Michigan	6	3	.667
3	Buffalo	5	3	.625
4	Toledo	6	2	.750
5	Miami (OH)	5	3	.625
6	Eastern Michigan	4	5	.444
7	Ball State	3	5	.375
8	Kent State	3	6	.333
9	Bowling Green	2	7	.222
10	UMass	4	4	.500
11	Central Michigan	3	5	.375
12	Sacramento State	2	7	.222
13	Akron	1	7	.125

	American Athletic	W	L	PCT
1	UTSA	7	1	.875
2	North Texas	6	2	.750
3	Memphis	7	2	.778
4	Army	5	3	.625
5	South Florida	6	2	.750
6	UAB	4	4	.500
7	Florida Atlantic	5	3	.625
8	East Carolina	4	4	.500
9	Tulane	4	4	.500
10	Charlotte	1	7	.125
11	Tulsa	4	4	.500
12	Temple	2	6	.250
13	Navy	2	6	.250
14	Rice	1	7	.125

	Big 12	W	L	PCT
1	Utah	8	0	1.000
2	BYU	7	1	.875
3	Texas Tech	7	1	.875
4	Houston	6	2	.750
5	Arizona	6	2	.750
6	Baylor	5	3	.625
7	Oklahoma State	5	3	.625
8	West Virginia	5	3	.625
9	Iowa State	4	4	.500
10	UCF	4	4	.500
11	Cincinnati	5	3	.625
12	Arizona State	4	4	.500
13	TCU	4	4	.500
14	Colorado	3	5	.375
15	Kansas State	4	4	.500
16	Kansas	3	5	.375