College football career passing touchdown leaders: All-time stats

Here is the list of the top 10 passing touchdown leaders in FBS college football history. Houston’s Case Keenum leads the way with 155 from 2007 to 2011.

Oregon’s Dillion Gabriel is the active leader with 143 passing touchdowns in Week 9 of the 2024-25 season.

*Denotes the active total

College football career as passing touchdown leader:

1. Case Keenum, Houston (2007-2011) – 155 touchdowns in 57 games

Keenum has been the king of college quarterback stats since leaving Houston in 2011. The 12-year NFL veteran holds the record for passing touchdowns (155) and passing yards (19,217). He had three seasons with over 5,000 yards and 44 or more touchdown passes.

He finished his senior season with 5,631 passing yards, 48 ​​touchdowns and just five interceptions. He led all FBS in passing yards and touchdowns in two of his four full seasons.

2. Dillon Gabriel, UCF (2019-2021); Oklahoma (2022-2023); Oregon (2024) – 143 touchdowns in 58 games*

Gabriel, leading the No. 1 Oregon Ducks in his first year in Eugene, trails Keenum by just 12 touchdowns in Week 9 of the 2024-25 college football season. He also ranks second in all-time passing yards, but is about 2,000 yards behind Keenum – and likely won’t catch the Houston legend before the end of the season.

However, the former UCF and Oklahoma quarterback has a real chance to break Keenum’s decade-long touchdown record. With four regular season games for the Ducks and likely another two to four with a conference championship and playoff games, Gabriel Keenum’s 155 should be well within his sights.

Gabriel didn’t light up the stat sheet quite as much as Keenum, but his consistency led him to a long and productive college career. His best season on paper was 2020 at UCF, where he rushed for 3,570 yards and 32 touchdowns in 10 games. He has four seasons with more than 3,000 passing yards and will likely add another by the end of this season.

3. Kellen Moore, Boise State (2008-2011) – 142 touchdowns in 53 games

Moore played at the same time as Keenum and both turned heads every week. Moore finished seventh in the 2009 Heisman voting, one spot ahead of Keenum. In 2011, Moore placed eighth in the poll, just behind Keenum in seventh place.

Moore may not hold the passing touchdown record, but he is the winningest quarterback in FBS history, compiling a 50-3 record in four years as a Bronco. His best season was 2011, when he rushed for 3,800 yards and 43 touchdowns and led Boise State to a 12-1 record.

T4. Graham Harrell, Texas Tech (2005-2008) – 134 touchdowns in 45 games

The Red Raiders legend held the career passing touchdown record after his college career ended in 2008. Although this was short-lived as Keenum and Moore overtook him a few years later, Harrell still sits in the top five all-time.

Harrell only played three full seasons for the Red Raiders, appearing in just six games in his first year and attempting a total of 55 passes. From 2006 to 2008, he managed 131 touchdowns – an average of 3.3 passing touchdowns per game during that span.

In 2007, Harrell passed for 5,705 yards and 48 touchdowns, leading FBS in both categories. In 2008, he finished fourth in Heisman voting, tied for the highest finish in Texas Tech history.

T4. Sam Hartman, Wake Forest (2018-2022); Notre Dame (2023) – 134 touchdowns in 60 games

Hartman spent his first five years of college football at Wake Forest and led the ACC in passing touchdowns (38) during his final year with the Demon Deacons in 2022. Hartman didn’t play more than 10 games in his first three years in Winston-Salem.

In his sixth and final season, Hartman transferred to Notre Dame, leading the Irish to a 10-3 record and adding 24 more touchdowns to his name. His best season was with the Deacons in 2021, where he rushed for 4,228 yards and 39 touchdowns.

T6. Colt Brennan, Hawaii (2005-2007) – 131 touchdowns in 38 games

Brennan only played three seasons of college football, but put up video game numbers during the 2006 season. The Rainbow Warrior passed for 5,549 yards and 58 touchdowns, setting the FBS single-season passing touchdown record. He threw five or more touchdowns in eight of his 14 games in 2006.

Brennan’s single-season record was later taken over by Joe Burrow in 2019 (60), but he still holds the record for the highest career completion percentage in FBS history (70.4).

T6. Baker Mayfield, Texas Tech (2013); Oklahoma (2015-2017) – 131 touchdowns in 48 games

Mayfield, one of only two Heisman Trophy winners on this list, began his college football career at Texas Tech. After his first season, he transferred to Oklahoma as a reserve player, but had to sit out the entire 2014 season due to transfer rules at the time.

But he proved the wait was worth it by finishing in the top four in Heisman voting in all three seasons for the Sooners. He took home the trophy in 2017, becoming the first and only walk-on to ever win the Heisman.

This 2017-2018 season, Mayfield led Oklahoma to the semifinals of the 2018 College Football Playoff against Georgia in a classic double overtime. He scored two touchdowns in that Rose Bowl, tying him for sixth all-time with Brennan and Rakeem Cato.

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T6. Rakeem Cato, Marshall (2011-2014) – 131 touchdowns in 53 games

Cato, a Marshall legend, amassed 131 touchdowns and 14,079 yards in four seasons with the Thundering Herd.

He threw 37 or more touchdowns in his final three seasons and led FBS in passing yards per game in 2012. Cato led Marshall to a program record 13 wins in 2014 and brought the Thundering Herd into the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2002.

9. Landry Jones, Oklahoma (2009-2012) – 123 touchdowns in 53 games

Jones took over for Oklahoma legend Sam Bradford as a rookie after Bradford was selected first overall in the 2010 NFL Draft. He rushed for more than 3,000 yards and 26 touchdowns in his first season, giving Sooner fans a taste of what the next three seasons would be like.

Jones posted three consecutive 4,000-yard seasons and set a career-high 38 touchdowns in 2010. That 2010 season, he led the Big 12 in passing yards and touchdowns as the Sooners defeated Nebraska in the Big 12 Championship.

T10. Ty Detmer, BYU (1988-1991) – 121 touchdowns in 48 games

Detmer is the only quarterback on this list who played in the years before 2000, solidifying his greatness in an era dominated by the running game. He was a true gunslinger for the Cougars, rushing for more than 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns in three of his four seasons.

During his Heisman-winning season in 1990, Detmer threw for 5,188 yards, 41 touchdowns and 28 interceptions, which led the FBS. He is the first and only Heisman Trophy winner for BYU.

T10. Aaron Murray, Georgia (2010-2013) – 121 touchdowns in 52 games

Murray played four full seasons for Georgia and set the all-time SEC records for passing yards and touchdowns. He passed for more than 3,000 yards in all four seasons, reaching a career high of 3,893 yards in 2012.

Murray threw for 35-plus touchdowns in two of his four seasons and led all FBS in yards per completion in 2012 (15.6).