At the beginning of his college career at NIU in DeKalb, IL Lynch was
redshirted in 2009. He was the backup quarterback to
Chandler Harnish in 2010 and 2011. During those two years he completed 19 of 26 passes for 179 yards and two
touchdowns. He also rushed for 608 yards on 76 carries with six touchdowns. In 2012, he became NIU's starting quarterback. During the 2012 marathon MAC Championship Game, Lynch increased his rushing stats to 1,771 yards on 271 carries, breaking the previous NCAA record for rushing yards in a season by a quarterback set by
Denard Robinson. He finished the season with 1,815 yards. Lynch finished 7th in
Heisman Voting at the end of 2012, and won the Vern Smith Leadership Award, which is awarded to the best player in the
Mid-American Conference. On October 19, 2013, Lynch broke the record for the most rushing yards by a quarterback in one game, finishing with 316 yards and three touchdowns, en route to winning the
Walter Camp National Player of the Week. On October 26 against
Eastern Michigan, Lynch was responsible for six total touchdowns, throwing four, running for one, and catching a touchdown, gaining 339 total yards. On November 26, 2013, in
Dekalb, Illinois, Lynch broke the single-game quarterback rushing yards record again, rushing for 321 yards versus the
Western Michigan University Broncos. On December 9, 2013, Lynch was announced as a finalist for the 2013
Heisman Trophy. He finished third in the voting that was announced on December 14, 2013. On December 17, Lynch was named a first-team
All-American as an all-purpose player. He finished the season with 1,920 rushing yards, which broke his record from the previous season. On January 14, 2026, Lynch was inducted into the
College Football Hall of Fame.
College statistics NCAA records • Most rushing yards by a quarterback in a season: 1,920 (2013) • Most 100-yard rushing games by a quarterback in a season: 12 (2012) • Second most rushing yards per game by a quarterback in a season: 137.1 (2013) ==Professional career==