Ground and pound: Ranking college football's 10 best RB units for 2026
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Even as college football offenses increasingly do most of their damage through the air, there’s always room for an effective, ground-based attack.
As any frustrated fan has been liable to say at some point while watching their team on a given fall Saturday, it’s never a bad idea to just "run the dang ball."
A stable and reliable run game is important to the fortunes of any team with even a faint hope of competing for a national championship. A good group of backs, and a strong contingent of linemen blocking for them, can pick up needed yards in critical moments, control the clock and, if a unit’s really having its way, break the will of an opposing defense.
Several stars at the position will be back in college for the 2026 season, a group that includes the likes of Mississippi’s Kewan Lacy, Missouri’s Ahmad Hardy and Miami’s Mark Fletcher Jr., just to name a few. Beyond those individual standouts, though, what teams have the best, deepest groups of runners?
Here’s a look at the top 10 running back rooms for the 2026 season:
College football best RB units in 2026
10. Ohio State
While he’s no relation to the legendary two-sport star, the Buckeyes have a Bo Jackson of their own — and he’s awfully good. The former four-star recruit carried his team on the ground as a freshman last season, rushing for 1,090 yards and six touchdowns while averaging 6.1 yards per carry. For good measure, he also had 200 receiving yards and a touchdown. Fellow sophomore Isaiah West showed promise in his debut college season, too, rushing for 310 yards and averaging 5.3 yards per carry, and Florida transfer Ja’Kobi Jackson could provide a nice boost if he’s able to move on from a disappointing 2025 season with the Gators.
9. USC
As Lincoln Riley enters an all-too-critical fifth season with the Trojans, he’ll have an excellent group of backs to try to help propel what should be a high-powered offense. King Miller had a stellar redshirt freshman season in 2025, rushing for 972 yards and eight touchdowns, and was complemented effectively by Waymond Jordan, who added 576 yards and five touchdowns. Together, the pair combined to average 6.3 yards per carry.
8. Ole Miss
The Rebels have not only arguably the best player in the country in quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, but potentially the best running back, too. Kewan Lacy had a breakout sophomore season after transferring over from Missouri, with 24 rushing touchdowns (second-most in the FBS) and 1,567 yards (third-most). Transfers Makhi Frazier, who rushed for 520 yards last season at Michigan State, and Joshua Dye, who was an FCS first-team All-American last season at Southern Utah, should provide some nice depth for Ole Miss in coach Pete Golding’s first full season at the helm.
7. Florida
Jon Sumrall’s taking over a Florida program that has gone just 29-34 over the past five seasons, but his first squad in Gainesville will have some productive runners. Jadan Baugh is one of the top returning backs in the country after putting up 1,380 total yards and 10 touchdowns last season. This year, he’ll be joined in the backfield by a pair of big portal gets: Evan Pryor, who ran for 522 yards and averaged 6.9 yards per carry last season at Cincinnati, and London Montgomery, who put up 742 yards and seven touchdowns last season at East Carolina.
6. Miami
Mark Fletcher Jr. was one of the catalysts for the Hurricanes’ run to the national championship game last season, rushing for 507 yards and averaging 6.8 yards per carry in his team’s four College Football Playoff games. He’s back and not alone, either, as Miami’s No. 2 and No. 3 rushers from last season are also returning to Coral Gables. CharMar Brown ran for seven touchdowns in 2025, albeit while averaging just 3.9 yards per carry, and Girard Pringle Jr. could be due for a bigger role after scoring four touchdowns and averaging six yards per carry as a freshman last season.
5. Louisville
For all that coach Jeff Brohm added in the transfer portal, his biggest move of the offseason may have been holding on to Isaac Brown. Though injuries limited him to only nine games last season, Brown still managed to run for 884 yards on just 101 carries, an average of 8.8 yards per touch. He’s one of the biggest home-run threats in the sport, too, with five of his seven touchdowns last season going for at least 50 yards. In the games he missed, the Cardinals leaned heavily on another Brown, Keyjuan (no relation), a more bruising runner who averaged 7.3 yards per carry and scored six touchdowns. Watch out for Marquise Davis, too, a former four-star recruit who averaged 5.9 yards per carry as a freshman at Missouri last season.
4. Oregon
The Ducks will be breaking in a new offensive coordinator after Will Stein left to become the head coach at Kentucky, but new play-caller Drew Mehringer will be inheriting what should be a strong run game. After promising freshman seasons, Jordon Davison and Dierre Hill Jr. are back to help out Oregon’s Dante Moore-led offense. Davison was the primary back last season, rushing for a team-high 667 yards and 15 touchdowns, and Hill was wildly productive with fewer carries, racking up 656 rushing yards and 8.7 yards per carry (along with 137 receiving yards). With a year of college experience under their respective belts, both players could be primed for big seasons.
3. Texas
The Longhorns are believed to have one of the most expensive rosters in the sport for the upcoming season. At least a chunk of that change went to building what should be one of the country’s best backfields. Raleek Brown will be wearing burnt orange this season after rushing for 1,141 yards last season at Arizona State. He’s not the only prominent newcomer, either, with coach Steve Sarkisian pulling in Hollywood Smothers from NC State, where he racked up 1,128 total yards last season.
2. Missouri
The Tigers may very well have the best running back in the country in Ahmad Hardy, whose 1,649 rushing yards ranked second among all FBS players last season (to say nothing of his 16 touchdowns and 6.4 yards per carry). Hardy faces some questions over his health and availability heading into the season after he was shot in May, but even beyond him, there’s plenty to like about Mizzou’s backfield. If Hardy misses any time or doesn’t fully recover, the Tigers can lean that much more on Jamal Roberts, who rushed for 753 yards and averaged 6.1 yards per carry as a junior last season.
1. Texas Tech
While Texas Tech won’t have quarterback Brendan Sorsby to lean on this season, its offense will have what might be the best collection of running backs in the country. The Red Raiders’ top two rushers from last season’s Big 12 championship squad are back, with Cameron Dickey and J’Koby Williams combining for 1,992 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2025. And, because it’s Texas Tech, there’s a high-profile transfer ready to help in Quinten Joyner, who rushed for 478 yards and averaged 7.6 yards per carry at USC in 2024 before suffering a season-ending knee injury in preseason camp last year in Lubbock.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Sports: Ground and pound: Ranking college football's 10 best RB units for 2026
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