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20 college football records that will never be broken

By Nathaniel Reeves

7 Nov 1998: Head coach Bobby Bowden of the Florida State Seminoles looks on as players celebrate during the game against the Virginia Cavaliers at the Doak Campell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida. The Seminoles defeated the Cavaliers 45-14. Mandatory Credit: Scott Halleran /Allsport
7 Nov 1998: Head coach Bobby Bowden of the Florida State Seminoles looks on as players celebrate during the game against the Virginia Cavaliers at the Doak Campell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida. The Seminoles defeated the Cavaliers 45-14. Mandatory Credit: Scott Halleran /Allsport /
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These 20 college football records will stand the test of time and never again be broken in the history of the sport.

Sports records are made to broken, and college football has seen no shortage of new all-time marks in recent years.

Players across sports are consistently getting more physically dominant, allowing individuals and teams to put up previously unheard of numbers. College football has been particularly prone to record-breaking in recent years, as dynamic innovative offenses continue to change the game.

Last season alone in college football brought a number of new records, particularly on the offensive side of the ball. Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes racked up 819 yards of offense in a loss to Oklahoma, Connor Halliday broke a decades-long FBS record for single-game passing yards, and East Carolina’s Zay Jones set a new NCAA mark of 399 career receptions.

Even more hallowed marks like Bear Bryant’s six national championships as a head coach could be in danger soon enough. Still, the NCAA record books feature a number of marks that have stood for decades and don’t figure to be seriously challenged.

20. Rushing yards in a quarter: Corey Dillon, 222 

Prior to etching his name in the NFL record brooks, Dillon turned in an untouchable quarter while playing for the Washington Huskies in a 1996 game against San Jose State.

Dillon is a native of Seattle, but spent the first two years of his college career at JUCOs before transferring to Washington ahead of the 1996 season. By the time the mid-November matchup against the Spartans rolled around, Dillon was well on the way to the best rushing season in school history and helped the Huskies to a No. 15 ranking following three straight down years for the program.

The Huskies figured to have little trouble against a San Jose State team that finished the season with the No. 107 scoring defense in the country, but nobody could have foreseen Dillon’s first-quarter onslaught. Dillon scored on touchdown runs of 78, 48 and four yards that helped him to an unbelievable 222-yard quarter on the ground before being taken out of the game with Washington up 25-0.

Even with the explosive offenses of today’s game, it’s hard to image a running back reeling off enough big plays over the course of 15 minutes to top Dillon’s mark. Just for good measure, Dillon also scored on an 83-yard screen pass and also owns the NCAA record for total yards in a quarter with 305, although that one may be a little easier to break for an effective dual-threat quarterback.

Dillon was selected in the second round of the subsequent draft, and set a then-NFL record with 278 rushing yards in a game against the Denver Broncos in 2000, eclipsing the old mark held by Walter Payton.

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