Running back, Illinois State (from Merrimack, Cincinnati), 2021–26
Victor Dawson
Lettered 2024 at Cincinnati (school media guide)
- Number
- No. 5
- Height
- 5′11″
- Weight
- 225 lb
- Class (2026)
- Senior
- Hometown
- Akron, OH
Victor Dawson plays running back for Illinois State, after Merrimack (2021–22) and Cincinnati (2023–24). Last time out, at Southern Illinois: 16 carries, 82 yards, 1 TD; 1 catch, −2 yards. Dawson leads Illinois State in rushing yards this season.
2026 so far
281 rushing yards, 4 TD
Last game: 16 carries, 82 yards, 1 TD; 1 catch, −2 yards at Southern Illinois, W 35–14
Next game: vs. Indiana State, Oct 24
Filled bars: wins; outlined: losses.
Career highs
155rushing yards, career highat Villanova, 20254rushing touchdowns, career highvs. Wagner, 2022Rushing
* The season in progress, so far.
| Season | Team | Car | Yds | Avg | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Merrimack | 152 | 757 | 5.0 | 10 | 38 |
| 2024 | Cincinnati | 7 | 63 | 9.0 | 0 | 47 |
| 2025 | Illinois State | 278 | 1,377 | 5.0 | 5 | 69 |
| 2026 | Illinois State | 74 | 281 | 3.8 | 4 | 41 |
| Career | 511 | 2,478 | 4.8 | 19 | 69 | |
Receiving
| Season | Team | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Illinois State | 32 | 176 | 5.5 | 0 | 24 |
| 2026 | Illinois State | 4 | 10 | 2.5 | 0 | 7 |
| Career | 36 | 186 | 5.2 | 0 | 24 | |
Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls. * That team-season’s player lines are missing part of the team’s yards in our source, so these numbers may be short.
On the roster
| Season | Team | No. | Pos | Class | Ht | Wt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Merrimack | 5 | RB | Yr 2 | ||
| 2023 | Cincinnati | 5 | RB | Yr 3 | ||
| 2024 | Cincinnati | 5 | RB | Yr 4 | ||
| 2025 | Illinois State | 5 | RB | Yr 5 | ||
| 2026 | Illinois State | 5 | RB | Sr. (Yr 6) | 5′11″ | 225 |
As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.
Per play
| Season | Team | Plays | EPA/play | Pctile | Median | Total | Usage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Merrimack (FCS) | 41 | 0.12 | – | – | 5.0 | 16% |
| 2024 | Cincinnati | 7 | -0.39 | – | – | -2.8 | – |
| 2025 | Illinois State (FCS) | 306 | 0.04 | 32nd (n=576) | 0.10 | 12.5 | 26% |
| 2026 | Illinois State (FCS) | 86 | 0.19 | 70th (n=478) | 0.10 | 16.2 | 20% |
Expected points added: how much the player’s plays moved the team’s expected score, per play and in total. Plays: total EPA divided by EPA per play, the plays the source credits to him (for a receiver roughly his catches and runs, not every target; for a passer, not every attempt), so it can differ from attempts plus carries. Percentile: against the position’s regulars that season across all divisions on file (quarterbacks with 150+ plays, backs 60+, receivers and tight ends 30+), with how many there were (n) and their median; a dash means too few plays to rank. A season in progress uses the full-season bar scaled by games played, never below 75 plays for quarterbacks, 30 for backs and 20 for receivers. The cohort grows or shrinks with the source’s coverage each season (2025 lists far more players), so compare percentiles rather than raw EPA across years. FCS seasons are marked. Usage: the share of the team’s plays the player was part of (shown from 20 plays). From CollegeFootballData, 2013 on.
Game by game
2026 Illinois State 5 games, 281 rushing yards, 4 TD
| Date | Opponent | Result | Car | Yds | TD | Long | Rec | Rec yds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 5 | at | W 41–10 | 20 | 73 | 2 | 14 | – | – |
| Sep 12 | at | W 28–24 | 12 | 46 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 7 |
| Sep 26 | at | L 21–28 | 4 | 13 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 3 |
| Oct 3 | vs. | L 14–31 | 22 | 67 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 2 |
| Oct 17 | at | W 35–14 | 16 | 82 | 1 | 41 | 1 | −2 |
No box score in the source for Aug 29 vs. St. Francis (IL), so that game is not listed.
2025 Illinois State 17 games, 1,377 rushing yards, 5 TD
| Date | Opponent | Result | Car | Yds | TD | Long | Rec | Rec yds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 30 | at | L 3–35 | 8 | 21 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 7 |
| Sep 6 | vs. | W 41–13 | 10 | 88 | 0 | 50 | 1 | −4 |
| Sep 13 | at | W 42–30 | 12 | 42 | 0 | 17 | – | – |
| Sep 20 | vs. | W 38–36 | 16 | 51 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 11 |
| Oct 4 | vs. | L 16–33 | 11 | 68 | 0 | 23 | 3 | 10 |
| Oct 11 | at | W 46–32 | 10 | 71 | 1 | 19 | 1 | 3 |
| Oct 18 | vs. | L 35–40 | 6 | 34 | 0 | 16 | – | – |
| Oct 25 | at | W 21–13 | 7 | 24 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 6 |
| Nov 1 | vs. | W 31–16 | 17 | 101 | 1 | 20 | 4 | 16 |
| Nov 8 | at | W 52–20 | 21 | 116 | 1 | 15 | 3 | −2 |
| Nov 15 | at | W 35–21 | 20 | 98 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 24 |
| Nov 22 | vs. | L 7–37 | 14 | 25 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 20 |
| Nov 29 | at | W 21–3 | 11 | 72 | 0 | 18 | – | – |
| Dec 6 | at | W 29–28 | 23 | 137 | 1 | 69 | 3 | 19 |
| Dec 13 | at | W 42–31 | 29 | 148 | 0 | 21 | 3 | 23 |
| Dec 20 ✦ | at | W 30–14 | 34 | 155 | 1 | 26 | 1 | 10 |
| Jan 5 ✦ | vs. | L 34–35 | 29 | 126 | 0 | 21 | 5 | 33 |
2024 Cincinnati 4 games, 63 rushing yards
| Date | Opponent | Result | Car | Yds | TD | Long | Rec | Rec yds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 31 | vs. | W 38–20 | 2 | 54 | 0 | 47 | – | – |
| Sep 14 | at | W 27–16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
| Sep 21 | vs. | W 34–0 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 4 | – | – |
| Sep 28 | at | L 41–44 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – |
2022 Merrimack 11 games, 757 rushing yards, 10 TD
| Date | Opponent | Result | Car | Yds | TD | Long | Rec | Rec yds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2 | vs. | L 17–31 | 6 | 25 | 0 | 15 | – | – |
| Sep 9 | vs.Assumption | W 45–17 | 6 | 35 | 1 | 20 | – | – |
| Sep 16 | at | L 21–28 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 3 | – | – |
| Sep 24 | at | W 26–13 | 11 | 53 | 1 | 9 | – | – |
| Oct 1 | vs. | W 24–23 | 22 | 110 | 1 | 21 | – | – |
| Oct 8 | at | W 28–21 | 22 | 124 | 2 | 28 | – | – |
| Oct 15 | vs. | W 54–17 | 19 | 128 | 4 | 38 | – | – |
| Oct 22 | vs. | W 31–25 | 19 | 86 | 1 | 28 | – | – |
| Oct 29 | at | W 17–10 | 13 | 83 | 0 | 34 | – | – |
| Nov 12 | at | W 20–14 | 15 | 38 | 0 | 7 | – | – |
| Nov 19 | vs.Saint Francis | L 23–52 | 14 | 64 | 0 | 9 | – | – |
Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.
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