The greatest rushing performance in NCAA college football history took place on a field in Milton, Massachusetts, on Saturday.
In a 71-27 win for Division III Curry College over Nichols, running back Montie Quinn ran for 522 yards and 7 touchdowns.
Quinn’s performance set the NCAA record across all divisions for rushing yards in a single game. No player in NCAA history had ever topped 500 rushing yards in a game before. Quinn’s 7 touchdowns also set a new program record.
And he did it on 20 carries.
That’s an average of 26.1 yards per run.
The senior running back had eight rushes of over 25 yards, including touchdown runs of 85, 84, 76, 64, 58, and 30 yards. He also had a 43-yard run that set up a 2-yard score.
“What Montie did today was nothing short of amazing. Breaking the NCAA rushing record is a monumental achievement,” head coach Todd Parsons said. “I think he’d be the first to tell you, records like this don’t happen alone.”
Added Quinn: “This belongs to all of us. I just happened to be the one carrying the ball.”
The previous NCAA D3 record was held by Cartel Brooks, who ran for 465 yards on 38 attempts for Heidelberg (OH) in 2013. The D2 record is held by Connor Silveria, who ran for 425 yards on 46 attempts for South Dakota Mines in 2018. The FCS record is held by Maurice Hicks, who ran for 437 yards on 34 attempts for North Carolina A&T in 2001.
The FBS record is held by former Oklahoma running back Samaje Perine, who ran for 427 yards on 34 carries in 2014.
Heading into Week 8 of the 2025 college football season, there were 6 FBS teams with fewer than 522 rushing yards through 6 games.
Washington State had 516. Boston College had 510. UMass was the worst rushing team in the FBS coming into the weekend, with just 350 yards in 6 games.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
