Top 5 Running Back Performances of Week 10 College Football: Dillon Johnson, RJ Harvey, more

Justin's NCAA college football top running backs from Week 10 of the 2023 season. Top RB performers include Dillon Johnson and RJ Harvey.

Week 10 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. That includes two backs with 200-plus rushing yards.

Many of these players are mentioned below, but a quick shoutout to the 150-plus yard rushers who didn't make this week's top five: Clemson's Phil Mafah, Auburn's Jarquez Hunter, Liberty's Quinton Cooley, Northern Illinois' Antario Brown, Georgia Southern's Jalen White, and Rutgers' Kyle Monangai.

Below are the top five running back performances from Week 10 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. Marion Lukes - Central Michigan

Unlike the rest of the players on this week's list, Central Michigan's Marion Lukes didn't score multiple touchdowns. The third-year back only found the end zone once in the contest, but he still had a huge day, carrying the ball 21 times for 202 yards as the Chippewas took down Northern Illinois 37-31.

Coming into this game, Lukes hadn't had more than 58 rushing yards in any game this season, though he had made a pretty big impact in the passing game, catching multiple passes five times.

Can Lukes keep this momentum up? The only other time he rushed for over 100 yards in a game came against Akron last year when he finished with 160 rushing yards and two scores while catching four passes for 71 yards and another touchdown. The next week against Bowling Green? Just seven carries for 16 yards.

(This CMU/NIU game also featured a big running back performance on the NIU side as well, with Antario Brown finishing with 22 carries for 167 yards and a score. Brown is currently No. 2 in the MAC in rushing yards with 843.)

4. Isaac Guerendo - Louisville

Former Wisconsin running back Isaac Guerendo transferred to Louisville this offseason. On Saturday, he had the best game of his college career.

Guerendo had just 11 carries in the 34-3 win over Virginia Tech, but he made the most of those touches, finishing with 146 yards and three touchdowns. He now has more rushing yards and rushing touchdowns this season than in any previous season.

This probably doesn't really change anything about the Louisville run game, though. Jawhar Jordan has five 100-yard games already this season, gaining 881 yards and scoring 11 touchdowns. Don't expect to see a huge uptick in usage for Guerendo after this one. Still, it's always nice to see a player who's been in college for a while have a big game like this.

3. Greg Desrosiers Jr. - UMass

I've written about UMass running back Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams before, who has been really good this season. In fact, he made this list last week when he ran for 234 yards and three scores in a win over Army.

Lynch-Adams was solid in this week's win over Merrimack, with 23 carries for 88 yards, but he wasn't the best UMass running back in this one. That distinction goes to Greg Desrosiers Jr., who hadn't appeared in a game in a month.

Desrosiers kept UMass from getting upset by its FCS opponent, running the ball 10 times for 162 yards and three touchdowns. Two of those touchdowns came in the fourth quarter as Desrosiers had sprints of 57 and 46 yards in that final frame.

2. RJ Harvey - UCF

UCF earned its first Big 12 conference win on Saturday when the team took down fellow Big 12 newcomer Cincinnati 28-26. The victory ended a five-game losing streak for UCF.

RJ Harvey was a major part of the win. On a night where quarterback John Rhys Plumlee completed just 13 passes and didn't find the end zone through the air, Harvey picked up the slack. He carried the ball 20 times for 164 yards and three touchdowns, plus added a seven-yard reception.

Harvey has now finished with 100-plus rushing yards in four consecutive games, which has taken him up to 876 rushing yards on the season. He went over 1,000 scrimmage yards this week, as he now has 1,093 of them. That number ranks fourth in the Big 12.

1. Dillon Johnson - Washington

So far this season, Washington's success has mostly come because of its passing game, which is led by Heisman frontrunner Michael Penix Jr., but the run game took center stage this week in the team's 52-42 victory over USC.

Dillon Johnson, who came over from Mississippi State in the offseason, carried the ball 26 times in Saturday's game, gaining 256 yards and finding the end zone four times. He also added two receptions for 11 yards.

Johnson entered this week with just one career 100-yard game, which came earlier this season against Oregon when he finished with exactly 100 yards. He more than doubled his career high on Saturday, coming up huge when the Huskies needed it. Three of his touchdowns came on short-yardage plays in the red zone, while the other was a 52-yard scamper.

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