2026 College Touchbacks Avoided (STOP Rank) Leaders

STOP (Saved Touchbacks Over Projection) is FootballKickingStats.com's touchback rating: how many touchbacks a punter avoided. Every punt gets an expected touchback chance: how often that season's punts from the same 5-yard stretch of the field went into the end zone. Add those chances up over a punter's season and subtract his real touchbacks. A punter who kicks often from midfield and keeps the ball out of the end zone climbs; one who punts from deep in his own end has few chances to gain or lose.

Higher is better. A STOP of +2.0 means two fewer touchbacks than an average punter would have had from the same spots. A short punt also avoids a touchback, so read it with net average. Blocked punts are left out. In 2026, Billy Gowers (+2.4) led college football punters in touchbacks avoided (STOP rank), ahead of Hamish Adams (+2.4) and Jack Smith (+2.4). 130 punters qualify (minimum 15 punts). The median qualified punter had +0.1. This season is in progress (through Week 7), so the numbers change each week.

Data through Week 7 of the 2026 season, updated October 24, 2026.

Rk	Player	Team	STOP	Punts	Avg	Net	In 20	In 20 %	TB %	FC %	Points
1	Billy Gowers	Indiana	+2.4	20	38.5	36.9	11	55%	0%	61%	+1.7
2	Hamish Adams	Sacramento State	+2.4	35	41.1	40.9	16	47%	0%	78%	+2.0
3	Jack Smith	Clemson	+2.4	30	38.6	37.6	13	43%	0%	70%	−2.2
4	Mason Golding	Louisiana	+2.3	28	40.1	34.5	14	50%	0%	40%	−10.4
5	Brody Richter	New Mexico State	+2.1	26	40.3	38.4	10	37%	0%	60%	−1.9
6	Grant Chadwick	LSU	+2.1	22	38.7	35.5	10	45%	0%	44%	−1.9
7	Josh Cupitt	Delaware	+2.1	34	42.0	39.7	17	50%	0%	52%	+1.8
8	Aeron Burrell	North Carolina	+1.8	21	42.8	36.8	10	48%	0%	24%	−2.2
9	Nick Verdugo	Fresno State	+1.8	25	42.0	40.5	17	68%	0%	74%	+4.2
10	Harrison Tuck	Memphis	+1.7	30	40.8	39.2	10	36%	0%	44%	−2.0
11	Dusty Zimmer	Southern Miss	+1.7	28	40.0	38.4	9	32%	0%	48%	+2.6
12	John Hoyet Chance	TCU	+1.6	25	43.5	41.5	15	60%	0%	39%	+1.9
13	Alex Asparuhov	Alabama	+1.6	23	43.1	41.3	13	59%	0%	56%	+7.2
14	Tom Weston	Minnesota	+1.6	25	41.5	36.9	12	44%	0%	47%	−1.5
15	Gavin Rush	Arkansas	+1.6	27	40.5	38.2	9	32%	0%	74%	−4.5
16	Aidan Flintoft	Stanford	+1.5	43	43.0	40.6	13	30%	2%	66%	+3.4
17	Gehrig Heil	Hawai'i	+1.5	35	43.4	40.3	16	46%	3%	37%	+3.7
18	Bryce McFerson	Maryland	+1.5	30	41.6	36.5	11	37%	0%	44%	−8.4
19	Hudson Kaak	Auburn	+1.4	27	40.3	39.4	14	52%	0%	55%	+2.1
20	Markus Meincke	Toledo	+1.4	22	42.0	40.5	9	41%	0%	58%	+0.4
21	Aleksi Pulkkinen	South Alabama	+1.4	21	37.9	36.9	8	38%	0%	43%	−2.8
22	Daniel Hughes	Florida State	+1.4	21	44.0	42.6	10	48%	0%	33%	+4.5
23	Dante Atton	Temple	+1.2	23	42.5	40.8	9	39%	0%	47%	+1.1
24	Curtis Gerrand	UCLA	+1.2	23	45.2	39.6	11	50%	5%	35%	+0.3
25	Joseph Castle	Akron	+1.2	32	41.6	35.8	12	36%	3%	44%	−8.3
26	Jaxson Dunn	App State	+1.1	35	41.9	40.4	12	34%	3%	32%	+3.9
27	Landon Rehkow	Utah State	+1.1	31	42.1	38.7	15	48%	6%	48%	+4.3
28	Ryan Kingston	Bowling Green	+1.1	33	40.1	32.7	11	32%	6%	24%	−9.7
29	Angus Davies	California	+1.1	32	41.0	37.6	11	35%	3%	44%	−5.5
30	Felix Visser	Florida International	+1.0	20	38.6	36.7	7	35%	5%	56%	−3.7
31	Mason Love	South Carolina	+0.9	18	42.7	42.1	5	28%	0%	44%	+0.3
32	Michael Kern	New Mexico	+0.9	17	40.1	38.5	9	53%	6%	60%	+2.1
33	Jonah DuPont	Iowa State	+0.9	22	44.4	39.2	4	19%	0%	33%	+0.8
34	AJ Winsor	Oregon State	+0.8	18	42.7	40.1	8	44%	0%	60%	+4.5
35	Fuller Shurtz	BYU	+0.8	18	44.4	44.2	5	28%	0%	92%	+7.9
36	Jimmy Gregg	Syracuse	+0.8	17	42.2	39.6	6	35%	6%	67%	−0.3
37	Orion Phillips	Utah	+0.8	16	42.3	42.3	8	50%	0%	31%	+1.5
38	Oliver Straw	UAB	+0.8	21	45.4	41.4	12	57%	0%	28%	+0.7
39	Matt Choules	UNLV	+0.8	30	42.3	38.5	15	50%	7%	50%	+0.5
40	Jackson Waller	NC State	+0.7	26	42.0	40.9	10	38%	4%	69%	+1.9
41	Declan Duley	Central Michigan	+0.7	32	43.9	37.2	11	34%	6%	31%	0.0
42	Jake Stoeckel	Kent State	+0.7	30	42.8	39.6	12	40%	7%	41%	+0.8
43	Damon Greaves	Colorado	+0.6	29	45.3	37.9	13	45%	7%	22%	−3.0
44	Nikola Dugandzic	Northwestern	+0.6	19	38.8	35.3	7	37%	5%	50%	−3.9
45	Tommy Warner	UConn	+0.6	27	41.3	41.4	10	40%	4%	63%	+5.1
46	Matt McKenzie	Kennesaw State	+0.5	30	44.3	39.8	11	38%	3%	48%	−0.2
47	James Wagenseller	Army	+0.5	20	46.5	43.9	9	45%	5%	29%	+5.6
48	Christian Teeter	Georgia State	+0.5	15	43.5	34.5	6	40%	0%	22%	−7.7
49	Cam Brown	Michigan	+0.4	30	41.9	39.3	13	43%	7%	54%	+4.5
50	Tashi Dorje	San Diego State	+0.4	36	46.1	40.0	14	39%	6%	25%	+1.1
51	Makenzie Ryan	UL Monroe	+0.4	33	41.4	31.8	7	22%	3%	39%	−23.5
52	Conor Donaghy	Jacksonville State	+0.4	16	47.3	45.9	9	56%	0%	55%	+7.1
53	Patrick Rea	James Madison	+0.4	32	43.2	40.3	18	56%	6%	30%	+5.3
54	Daniel Vuckovic	Arkansas State	+0.4	23	39.2	37.8	10	43%	4%	42%	−1.1
55	Sam Crossan	Liberty	+0.4	25	40.9	37.4	11	44%	12%	55%	+1.2
56	Caile Hogan	UTSA	+0.3	27	41.4	37.8	10	36%	4%	33%	−3.3
57	Jackson Ross	Tennessee	+0.3	28	44.8	40.6	14	50%	7%	67%	+2.5
58	Ewan Baulch	Nevada	+0.3	19	42.6	39.9	5	26%	5%	71%	+4.3
59	Mac Chiumento	Texas	+0.3	24	43.0	38.9	8	33%	4%	55%	−4.7
60	Nathan Sutcliffe	Colorado State	+0.2	21	42.9	37.4	5	25%	5%	17%	−3.6
61	Tomas O'Halloran	East Carolina	+0.2	29	46.9	42.9	11	38%	3%	52%	+4.9
62	Stewart McDonald	Missouri State	+0.2	23	41.2	36.0	7	30%	4%	41%	−3.6
63	Gabe Russo	Pittsburgh	+0.2	24	44.0	42.7	9	36%	8%	36%	+4.1
64	Magnus Haines	Ohio	+0.2	18	43.3	39.1	8	44%	6%	50%	+0.9
65	Cole Stumbaugh	Ball State	+0.1	33	43.2	36.7	12	36%	6%	33%	−3.6
66	Alec Clark	Florida	+0.1	22	47.4	42.1	12	55%	5%	56%	+1.8
67	Ian Kelly	Charlotte	+0.1	26	45.0	39.4	10	38%	4%	50%	−5.9
68	Alex Bacchetta	Georgia Tech	+0.1	21	43.3	37.0	7	32%	5%	39%	−1.3
69	Sean West	Wisconsin	0.0	23	43.1	39.6	14	61%	9%	38%	+1.3
70	Niall Hayes	Louisville	0.0	25	40.0	38.0	7	28%	4%	35%	−5.1
71	Trent Carrizosa	San José State	0.0	35	42.9	36.3	17	49%	9%	38%	−1.4
72	Nathan Totten	Virginia Tech	0.0	24	41.4	35.3	9	39%	9%	29%	−5.8
73	Matthew Gill	Kansas	0.0	20	39.9	37.1	3	15%	5%	44%	−1.2
74	Bailey Ettridge	Oregon	0.0	24	46.9	46.0	9	38%	4%	53%	+8.0
75	Ryan Millmore	Western Michigan	0.0	27	43.7	40.4	12	44%	7%	36%	+2.7
76	Daniel Hull	Eastern Michigan	0.0	32	44.1	39.7	11	33%	6%	38%	0.0
77	Joe McGuire	Ohio State	0.0	19	43.8	39.5	10	53%	11%	50%	+3.7
78	Oscar Doyle	Boise State	−0.1	16	43.8	42.6	6	38%	6%	67%	+3.4
79	Jacob Ulrich	Oklahoma	−0.1	19	44.4	41.5	4	21%	5%	50%	+2.4
80	Wade McSparron	SMU	−0.1	15	44.2	39.5	7	47%	7%	45%	−0.2
81	Dylan Drennan	Purdue	−0.1	20	47.0	43.8	7	35%	5%	40%	+4.1
82	Max Tulen	Tulsa	−0.2	36	42.9	39.6	11	30%	6%	42%	−2.1
83	Oscar Bird	Ole Miss	−0.2	18	46.8	43.5	7	39%	6%	44%	+6.0
84	Edward Phillipson	Massachusetts	−0.2	32	45.1	38.1	12	34%	6%	56%	−1.0
85	Evan Crenshaw	Troy	−0.2	26	46.1	41.0	11	42%	8%	42%	−5.5
86	Cooper Heimbach	Marshall	−0.2	29	46.0	39.7	11	39%	7%	33%	+0.8
87	Thomas O'Hara	Kentucky	−0.2	17	40.7	37.5	4	24%	6%	31%	−2.0
88	Simon McClannan	Kansas State	−0.2	18	46.8	41.1	11	61%	11%	59%	+3.5
89	Boston Everitt	Iowa	−0.3	27	43.0	41.6	17	61%	7%	59%	+4.5
90	Ethan Pulliam	Mississippi State	−0.3	18	41.7	38.9	7	39%	11%	47%	+4.1
91	Roland Podesta	Coastal Carolina	−0.3	35	42.4	40.2	13	37%	9%	53%	+1.5
92	Will Duncan	Air Force	−0.3	15	46.1	40.7	7	47%	7%	38%	+2.4
93	Ethan Hyams	Wake Forest	−0.3	21	45.2	44.0	8	38%	5%	64%	+3.7
94	Dylan Joyce	Miami	−0.3	16	44.6	36.8	5	31%	6%	60%	−0.7
95	Will Karoll	Texas Tech	−0.4	20	50.8	48.5	10	50%	5%	43%	+9.9
96	Daniel Sparks	Virginia	−0.4	36	51.1	43.7	16	44%	6%	30%	+0.9
97	Hunter Green	Washington	−0.4	33	47.9	42.1	10	31%	6%	33%	+3.9
98	Chase Ridley	Arizona	−0.5	15	41.5	38.9	6	40%	13%	75%	+1.1
99	Cal Joseph	Sam Houston	−0.5	45	44.2	39.9	18	40%	9%	55%	+1.8
100	Max Fletcher	Cincinnati	−0.5	21	46.3	44.4	11	52%	10%	63%	+7.3
101	Luke Goater	South Florida	−0.5	24	45.5	42.5	13	54%	8%	40%	+4.9
102	Lexington Matthews	Louisiana Tech	−0.7	19	44.7	40.0	7	37%	11%	22%	+1.4
103	Archie Wilson	Nebraska	−0.7	26	44.2	42.3	10	38%	8%	50%	+2.9
104	Max Dean	Washington State	−0.8	40	43.4	38.2	12	32%	8%	23%	−5.9
105	Tyler Ebel	Vanderbilt	−0.8	27	47.0	39.7	11	41%	8%	15%	−3.2
106	Charlie Durkin	Rice	−0.8	28	45.5	39.9	8	29%	7%	10%	−1.9
107	Brady Braun	UTEP	−0.9	32	40.7	35.3	9	28%	6%	15%	−11.7
108	Alex Smith	Georgia Southern	−0.9	29	42.7	33.8	8	28%	10%	50%	−13.9
109	Bryan Hansen	West Virginia	−0.9	28	42.9	40.0	10	36%	11%	60%	−0.6
110	Aaron Bickerton	North Dakota State	−1.2	24	45.5	37.9	9	38%	13%	22%	−1.0
111	Liam Dougherty	Houston	−1.3	16	45.6	39.5	8	50%	13%	17%	+1.7
112	Nick McLarty	Arizona State	−1.3	23	42.0	32.2	4	17%	13%	59%	−11.3
113	Kade Reynoldson	Duke	−1.3	26	45.9	39.7	13	48%	12%	11%	+3.1
114	Jake Ference	Northern Illinois	−1.4	29	41.8	34.4	6	21%	11%	32%	−13.7
115	Jakob Anderson	Rutgers	−1.5	15	45.9	43.2	4	27%	13%	50%	+3.7
116	Bryce LaFollette	Boston College	−1.7	23	41.0	31.1	2	9%	17%	24%	−9.2
117	Bart Edmiston	Wyoming	−1.8	27	48.0	40.9	11	41%	15%	42%	+8.2
118	Nathan Tiyce	Penn State	−1.9	31	41.1	37.4	11	35%	13%	54%	−3.8
119	Ian Brandt	Old Dominion	−1.9	35	42.3	36.0	6	17%	11%	40%	−12.2
120	Tyler White	Texas A&M	−1.9	25	49.5	45.8	7	29%	13%	33%	+11.5
121	Jackson Smith	Western Kentucky	−2.0	39	43.7	38.7	9	23%	10%	29%	+0.7
122	Pierse Stainton	Miami (OH)	−2.2	29	43.8	38.6	16	55%	21%	50%	+2.1
123	Atticus Bertrams	UCF	−2.4	22	46.3	39.3	7	32%	18%	33%	+1.1
124	William Hudlow	Tulane	−2.8	32	46.9	43.5	11	34%	16%	43%	+10.2
125	Ethan Stumpf	Buffalo	−2.9	44	45.5	38.9	13	30%	14%	30%	+1.2
126	Ashton Logan	Middle Tennessee	−3.1	34	49.2	38.4	12	35%	18%	21%	−1.3
127	Brunno Reus	Missouri	−3.3	33	44.8	40.9	14	42%	18%	58%	+6.2
128	Rhys Dakin	Michigan State	−3.7	17	51.0	41.1	7	39%	29%	33%	−0.5
129	Drew Miller	Georgia	−4.3	19	46.1	38.7	7	37%	32%	35%	+1.1
130	Palmer Williams	Baylor	−5.5	22	51.4	43.5	7	32%	32%	47%	+5.2

All 2026 College punter rankings

Touchbacks Avoided (STOP Rank) in other seasons: 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011

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