Top 5 Running Back Performances of Week 3 College Football: Nate Noel, Audric Estimé, more

Week 3 of the college football season is over. It was a fun day of football and included some good performances from running backs, with 10 backs rushing for 150 or more yards. Some of those players are mentioned below, but a quick shoutout to the ones who aren't: Trevor Etienne (Florida), Blake Watson (Memphis), Ja'Quez Cross (Arkansas State), Jonathon Brooks (Texas), Tahj Brooks (Texas Tech), Tyre Shelton (Lousiana Tech), and La'Damian Webb (South Alabama).

If you like running the ball, then hopefully you tuned in to watch Louisiana Tech and North Texas play. Not only did Shelton finish with 152 yards and a touchdown for the Bulldogs, but UNT's Ayo Adeyi had a game of his own, carrying the ball 19 times for 148 yards and two scores as the Mean Green won their first game of the season.

Below are the top five running back performances from Week 3 of the college football season. These are judged through a combination of statistics, fantasy scoring, and game context, with consideration also given based on the team's offensive systems. Let's take a look at this week's top performances.

5. Devin Neal - Kansas

Devin Neal had 1,090 yards and nine touchdowns last season for the Jayhawks, establishing himself as one of the Big 12's top running backs. This season, he's picked up where he left off.

Neal had 94 yards and a touchdown in the opener against Missouri State, plus caught a touchdown in that game. He followed that up with 10 carries for 120 yards and a touchdown against Illinois.

He didn't get 100 yards against Nevada this week, but of his 17 carries, three went for touchdowns. He finished the 31-24 victory with 89 rushing yards, plus one reception for 59 yards.

Neal has 89 or more rushing yards in all three games so far. In his first 24 career games, he hit that mark just six times. This is shaping up to be a huge season for the third-year back.

4. Marquez Cooper - Ball State

After back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons for Kent State, Marquez Cooper made a rare in-conference move ahead of this season, going over to Indiana and joining Ball State.

And after his first two games with the Cardinals, it looked like Cooper had made a mistake. He rushed for 33 yards on 15 carries in the opener against Kentucky, an average of 2.2 yards per carry. It got even worse against Georgia, as he carried the ball 12 times and finished with just eight yards.

But those were SEC defenses. This week, Cooper had a get-right game against FCS program Indiana State, and he sure got right. He carried the ball 22 times in the 45-7 victory, gaining 177 yards and finding the end zone once in the victory.

Maybe this will be what it takes for Cooper to start consistently delivering like he did last season for Kent State. In eight games against other MAC teams, Cooper had 80 or more rushing yards seven times, including a 240-yard performance against Ohio.

3. Audric Estimé - Notre Dame

Last season was a breakout year for Audric Estimé at Notre Dame. After having just seven carries in 12 games as a freshman, he saw 156 carries in 2022, finishing with 920 yards and 11 touchdowns. He was expected to build on that in 2023, but I'm not sure he was expected to build on it as well as he has.

After being held to 95 yards in the opener against Navy, Estimé has three straight 100-yard games, averaging 8.8 yards per carry or better in each contest. He's also found the end zone in all four games.

On Saturday against Central Michigan, Estimé carried the ball 20 times, gaining a career-high 176 yards and finding the end zone once. He's well on his way to bettering his numbers from last season across the board. He averaged 5.9 yards per carry in 2022 and sits at 8.3 this season. He's over halfway to his yardage total from last season through just four games.

2. Nate Noel - Appalachian State

Nate Noel's been a big part of App State's football program since 2020, including rushing for over 1,000 yards in 2021. So it shouldn't be a surprise that he's looked as good as he has in 2023.

Noel's rushed for over 100 yards in all three games this season and has found the end zone each week as well. In Week 3 against East Carolina, Noel had 26 carries for 178 yards and a score. It was the second-most rushing yards he's ever had in a college game, trailing only the 187 yards he had against Marshall back in 2021.

And dating back to last season, Noel's now at four consecutive 100-yard games. In that four-game stretch, he's hit paydirt seven times. Up next for him is Wyoming, which allowed Texas running back Jonathon Brooks to run for 164 yards in Week 3. Noel has a chance to have another strong outing.

1. Kyle Monangai - Rutgers

Rutgers moved to 3-0 this weekend with a win over Virginia Tech. Running back Kyle Monangai was a big part of that victory as he carried the ball 16 times for 143 yards and three touchdowns while also adding a three-yard reception.

This marks back-to-back 100-yard games for Monangai, who has found the end zone at least once in every game this season. Coming into the season, he had just one 100-yard game in the first 23 games of his college career. He had just two touchdowns all of last season, with both coming in the first two games of the season.

But this year, Rutgers is using Monangai as its lead back, and he's delivering. His 58 carries are exactly double that of Ja'shon Benjamin, the backup. Monangai has been much more efficient with his touches, as he's averaged 6.2 yards per carry to Benjamin's 3.5.

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