Top 5 Running Back Performances of Week 5 College Football: Ray Davis, Kadarius Calloway, more

October 2, 2023

Justin's NCAA college football top running backs from Week 5 of the 2023 season. Top RB performers include Ray Davis and Kadarius Calloway.

Week 5 of the college football season is over. It was a fun day of football and included some good performances from running backs, with eight backs rushing for 150 or more yards. Some of those players are mentioned below, but a quick shoutout to the ones who aren't: Quinshon Judkins (Ole Miss), Jaydn Ott (Cal), Antario Brown (Northern Illinois), and Jaylan Knighton (SMU).

One of the top performers this week was an FCS running back, as Abilene Christian's Jay'Veon Sunday had 21 carries for 140 yards in a 45-31 loss to North Texas. I mentioned back in Week 1 when Cal's Jaydn Ott went off against UNT that we'd see a handful of RBs on this list after facing the Mean Green.

Below are the top five running back performances from Week 5 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. Ashton Jeanty - Boise State

For the second week in a row, Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty has found his way onto this list. Last week, he rushed for 205 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns against San Diego State. This week, the yardage wasn't quite there, but the touchdowns sure were.

Jeanty rushed for 82 yards on Saturday in a loss to Memphis but found the end zone twice on the ground. Of course, that alone wouldn't get him on this list. It was his usage in the receiving game that bolstered his case. Jeanty caught five passes in the loss, finishing with 53 yards and another two scores. The four total touchdowns for Jeanty represented a career-high for the Broncos' back.

4. Harrison Waylee - Wyoming

Wyoming moved to 4-1 on Saturday against New Mexico, and the Cowboys' only loss of the year was to a Texas team that looks like national title contenders. Can Wyoming win the Mountain West?

The biggest credit for Saturday's win goes to running back Harrison Waylee, who had 18 carries for 191 yards and a touchdown. Waylee, who played his first three seasons at Northern Illinois, has been a beast in the three games he's played this season. After missing the first two games because of offseason knee surgery, he's now 3-for-3 in his Cowboys career when it comes to 100-yard games as a member of this Wyoming team.

Overall, Waylee has 457 yards already, with three touchdowns and an 8.6 yards per carry average. He's looked simply unstoppable so far. Keep an eye on this kid.

3. Jonathon Brooks - Texas

Texas had some really good running backs last year. Two of them, Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson, are now in the NFL. That's allowed Jonathon Brooks, who had five touchdown runs last year, to take over as the lead back.

And so far, he's delivered in that role. Brooks has 85 carries for 596 yards and five scores this season and has caught five passes for 87 yards and a score.

That includes three consecutive games with 100 or more yards for Brooks. On Saturday against Kansas, he had his best showing of the season, carrying the ball 20 times for 217 yards and a pair of touchdowns. It was the second game in a row that Brooks has scored twice.

Brooks must like playing just Kansas. He had the first 100-yard game of his career against the Jayhawks last season. Now, he's got his first 200-yard game against them.

2. Kadarius Calloway - Old Dominion

Old Dominion's Kadarius Calloway had the most shocking performance of Week 5. Coming into this game, he had just five carries all season for 25 yards. Keshawn Wicks had operated as the team's lead back, and when Wicks didn't play against A&M Commerce last week, Devin Roche led the backfield with eight carries. (Technically, Jack Shields led with 11 carries, but he's a quarterback.)

But this week, the Monarchs went with Calloway more, as he saw 11 carries. He finished with 236 yards and three touchdowns. Roche and Wicks combined for 15 carries and had 40 yards.

So, uhh...that happened. I admittedly know nothing about Calloway, because I don't really follow third-string Sun Belt backs. But looking over his bio, he was a top recruit in high school who initially committed to Alabama and then went to a JUCO. Great to see a breakout performance from a player who took a bit of a unique path to ODU.

1. Ray Davis - Kentucky

Re'Mahn Davis had 112 yards in Week 1 against Ball State, but he didn't reach the mark again until Saturday against Florida. But he broke out in a big way against the Gators, carrying the ball 26 times for 280 yards and three touchdowns. He also caught a one-yard touchdown.

It pretty much goes without saying, but this was the best game of Davis' career. His previous career high in rushing yards came last year against South Carolina when he ran for 167 yards. His previous career high in rushing scores was two, a mark he first hit in 2019 as a freshman at Temple and then equaled twice already this season.

Davis, who spent the last two seasons at Vanderbilt before transferring to Kentucky, has already tied his career highs in rushing and receiving touchdowns. He had a good year in 2022, rushing for over 1,000 yards for the Commodores, but he's looking even better in 2023. He averaged 4.5 yards per carry last year and is at 7.8 this season.

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