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Michigan star Justice Haynes is one of the top rushers of 2025. Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

2025 college football rushing leaders after Week 3

Originally posted on CFB-HQ on SI | By Joe Cox | Last updated Sep 15, 2025 11:30 PM ET

Three weeks into the college football season, top running backs are already building up impressive resumes. From stars at Missouri and Michigan to under-appreciated standouts like Robert Henry Jr. at Texas-San Antonio, there's a ton of different stars and stories. Here's the national top 10 rushers to date.

10. Jeremiah Cobb, Auburn (46 carries, 314 yards, 4 TDs)

Cobb, a junior, has bided his time at Auburn, but was expected to sit behind Damari Alston. Instead, three weeks into the season, he has exactly equalled his career rushing yardage from his first two seasons at Auburn.

9. Kejon Owens, Florida International (45 carries, 322 yards, 4 TDs)

Owens is a junior back who hadn't topped 453 yards in any of his first three seasons at FIU. Three weeks in, he's closing on that number fast and had 173 yards against Florida Atlantic.

8. Bryson Donelson, Fresno State (50 carries, 325 yards, 2 TDs)

Donelson has nearly passed last year's total of 462 yards already. He did rack up 162 yards in Week 2 against Georgia Southern, but has been fairly pedestrian since.

7. Emmett Johnson, Nebraska (52 carries, 326 yards, 4 TDs)

Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

After two seasons at Nebraska with a total of one 100+ yard game, Johnson had two in a row to open the 2025 season.

6. Hollywood Smothers, NC State (63 carries, 380 yards, 3 TDs)

Smithers had 571 yards last year as a redshirt freshman at NC State after transferring over from Oklahoma. In his first two ACC games of 2025, he has ripped off 140 and 164 rushing yards respectively.

5. Justice Haynes, Michigan (49 carries, 388 yards, 5 TDs)

After splitting carries and having 448 yards and 7 TDs in 2024 at Alabama, Haynes has nearly already passed those totals this year at Michigan. Haynes has topped 100 yards and scored a touchdown in each of the first three games of the new season.

4. Cam Cook, Jacksonville State (67 carries, 390 yards, 2 TDs)

Cook had 460 rushing yards at TCU in 2024, but has starred at Jacksonville State. His 195 yards and two scores in Week 2 against Liberty is definitely noticeable.

3. Rashod Dubinion, Appalachian State (71 carries, 400 yards, 2 TDs)

Dubinion has been busy, handling the nation's most carries to date. He has already topped his totals from any of his three previous seasons at Arkansas. He has had between 22 and 25 carries each week and his 95 yards last week was a season low.

2. Ahmad Hardy, Missouri (57 carries, 462 yards, 5 TDs)

Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Hardy had a brilliant 2024 at Louisiana-Monroe with 1,351 yards and 13 scores. He's keeping up that pace at Mizzou, rushing for at least 100 yards per week and putting up 250 yards and three scores last week against Louisiana.

1. Robert Henry Jr., Texas-San Antonio (47 carries, 480 yards, 6 TDs)

Henry is a junior back and has been a bit better every year for the Roadrunners. So far, he has at least 144 rushing yards in each game with two touchdowns in each week.

This article first appeared on CFB-HQ on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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