BUFFALO, N.Y. – Jaret Patterson ran for eight touchdowns to tie a Football Bowl Subdivision record and became the fourth FBS player to have a 400-yard rushing game as Buffalo beat Kent State 70-41 on Saturday.
Patterson was wearing the No. 41 jersey instead of his usual 26, an honor in the Buffalo program. The number was worn by Solomon Jackson, a defensive end for the Bulls who died of a heart-related problem in March 2016 after collapsing during an offseason workout. In 2018, coach Lance Leipold started the tradition of rotating 41 through the team on a weekly basis, giving it to a player as a reward.
“As you know when someone gets that number they get superpowers,” Patterson said. “I just wanted to represent that number really well, and I think I did that today.”
Patterson matched the single-game rushing touchdown mark set by Illinois running back Howard Griffith on Sept. 22, 1990, against Southern Illinois. Kalen Ballage of Arizona State is the only other player to score eight touchdowns in a major college game, getting seven rushing and one receiving in 2016 against Texas Tech.
Patterson, a junior, finished with 409 rushing yards, the second-best game in FBS history and 18 yards shy of Samaje Perine’s single-game record of 427 yards for Oklahoma against Kansas on Nov. 22, 2014.