Utah · L 13-21
3 carries, 7 yards
The other 7 games average 63 yards. This one was 56 below.
Dashed line: 100 yards.
Sanford against Houston’s best seasons, game by game
Backs who run like Sanford, and how their seasons went
Sanford against this year’s top backs, game by game
The road ahead: 447 yards, 56 a game, 4 regular-season games left.
Already their own best season; their previous best was 444, in 2024.
Over the last few games, Houston fans have been high on Sanford's running.
“Sanford can phase through dudes, I think.”
“Sanford is distractingly small. I love it”
“Sanford is cooking lmfao”
From r/CFB game threads. Read by AI.
No bar in a game where the team had under 100 rushing yards: a share of that little says nothing.
Share of the team's total this season.
Each line is one carry: taller means more yards, and a line pointing down lost yards. Black lines are touchdowns. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside each lane the carries are lined up shortest to longest, not placed. Of his carries with a spot in the play text: left 13, middle 42, right 12. His longest went for 56 yards.
Re'Shaun Sanford II
Does a little of everything without one standout trait. Played for two head coaches at Houston: Dana Holgorsen and Willie Fritz. On tape: 120 rushing yards against Georgia Southern, Week 4, 2026.
447 rushing yards · 2 rushing TD · 87 carries
Play style
Plays within the scheme — consistent production without a dominant dimension.
Closer · Q4-with-lead carry share
The closer
27.3% of carries overall (85/311) → 30.9% of Q4-with-lead carries (17/55) — 76.5% of those in competitive (≤16-pt) games.
Counted from the play-by-play, so a carry or two can differ from the box score.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Fans first named Re'Shaun Sanford II at Texas Tech.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Last game (Wk 8): 7 rushing yards, 2 catches.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 33-20vs Oregon State | 11 | 75 | 6.8 | 1 | 56 | |
| Wk 2 | W 77-6vs Southern | 4 | 27 | 6.8 | 1 | 18 | |
| Wk 3 | L 26-28@ No. 13 Texas Tech | 5 | 30 | 6.0 | 0 | 11 | |
| Wk 4 | W 42-28@ Georgia Southern | 17 | 120 | 7.1 | 0 | 17 | Season-high 120 yds |
| Wk 5 | W 27-17vs UCF | 18 | 62 | 3.4 | 0 | 9 | |
| Wk 6 | W 35-16@ Kansas State | 20 | 90 | 4.5 | 0 | 13 | |
| Wk 7 | W 35-32vs No. 18 Oklahoma State | 9 | 36 | 4.0 | 0 | 7 | |
| Wk 8 | L 13-21@ No. 10 Utah | 3 | 7 | 2.3 | 0 | 5 | |
| Total | 87 | 447 | 5.1 | 2 | 56 |
Oct. 24 · L 13-21 at Utah, play by play
3 carries for 7 yards.
18-yard catch on 3rd and 4. Third quarter, up 3-0. Converted.
9 carries for 36 yards.
The per-play feed is missing a 7-yard run in the third quarter (the play drew a penalty), which the play text shows; the chart draws the 8 carries it has.
10-yard catch. First quarter, tied 0-0.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
20 carries for 90 yards.
Not drawn: the play-by-play and the box score disagree.
18 carries for 62 yards. In the fourth quarter, with Houston ahead by one score, he carried 5 times for 11 yards.
The per-play feed is missing a 5-yard run in the fourth quarter (a touchdown called back by a penalty), which the play text shows; the chart draws the 17 carries it has.
6-yard run on 3rd and 6. First quarter, down 7-0. Converted.
22-yard catch. First quarter, down 7-0.
Incomplete on 4th and 2. Second quarter, down 7-0. Turnover on downs.
No gain on 3rd and 1. Fourth quarter, down 17-14.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
17 carries for 120 yards, his most this season. 6 of his 17 carries went 10 yards or more; the longest went 17.
17-yard run. Second quarter, up 20-14.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
5 carries for 30 yards. He also caught 5 passes for 50 yards.
13-yard catch. Fourth quarter, down 21-20.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
4 carries for 27 yards and a touchdown.
27-yard catch on 3rd and 13. First quarter, up 21-0. Converted.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
11 carries for 75 yards and a touchdown.
56-yard touchdown run. Second quarter, made it 16-7.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
Week 1 · 2026
W 33-20
vs Oregon State
75 rush yds (11 car) · 1 TD
With C. Weigman — 305 yds · 1 TD · 1 INT · 30 rush yds (9 car) · 1 TD · L. Dougherty — 42.3 yards per punt · 3 punts · 2 inside the 20
The plays that mattered most
107th in rushing yards, among all 1,551 FBS players with a rushing row this season, any position
Ratings of the games shown run from -5 to +18 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
Success rate
39%85 carriesStuffed
0 or fewer ydsGrind
1–3 ydsChunk
4–9 ydsExplosive
10+ yds5.1 yds/carry on 87 carries · 12% explosive (10+ yds) · 39% success rate.
Receiver profile · Targets, catch rate, and throw depth
How often he's targeted, and how well it works
Targets
135% of team targetsCatch rate
92%12 of 13 targetsBehind LOS · Negative air yds
Short · 0–9 air yds
92% catch rate on 13 targets · 5% of the team's targets.
2 seasons under Willie Fritz — 10-10 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 50.0 | 5.2 | 0.5 |
| Road4g | 61.8 | 5.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 62.9 | 5.5 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 7.0 | 2.3 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Willie Fritz
Pass share
43.3%
241 pass / 315 run
Plays / game
69.5
8 games
Team sack rate
3.4%
265 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2026
87 carries and 12 catches in 8 games, about as many touches a game as a typical FBS running back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #88 at the position.
The No. 1,459 recruit in the country is carrying the ball in the Big 12.
2026 is in progress.
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Dana Holgorsen → Willie Fritz. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
