In a sport in which the highest-profile names are increasingly quarterbacks — a fact reflected by the Heisman Trophy, which quarterbacks have won 12 of the past 14 years — the Boise State junior is something of a throwback, a workhorse running back helping carry a top-25 team.
As he continues to rack up cartoonish stats on the ground, Jeanty has become appointment viewing for college football fans nationally — even if, like last night, his team isn’t kicking off until many back in the Eastern time zone are preparing to go to bed.
Jeanty continued his stellar 2024 season late Saturday night for the Broncos in their 28-7 victory at Hawai’i, a game that kicked off at 11 p.m. ET.
Here’s a look at just how well Jeanty did in helping Boise State improve to 5-1 and take another step closer to the 12-team College Football Playoff:
Ashton Jeanty stats vs Hawai’i
Rushing: 31 carries for 217 yards (7.0 yards per carry), one touchdown
Receiving: Three catches for 20 yards (6.7 yards per catch), one touchdown
Jeanty rushed for 217 yards and a touchdown on 31 carries in his team’s win at Hawai’i.
He added a season-high three catches for 20 yards and his first receiving touchdown of the season. The catch extended Boise State’s lead to 14, 21-7, early in the fourth quarter, a much-needed cushion in a game in which it was favored to win by three touchdowns.
With his rushing and receiving totals combined, Jeanty had 237 yards and two touchdowns.
It was Jeanty’s third game (of a possible six) this season with at least 200 rushing yards. His seven yards per carry were his fewest of the season but, if anything, that speaks to the remarkable run the Jacksonville, Florida native has put together.
Ashton Jeanty highlights vs Hawai’i
Jeanty wasted little time logging his biggest play of the day.
With Boise State nursing a 3-0 lead and approaching midfield with about six minutes remaining in the first quarter, Jeanty took a handoff from quarterback Maddux Madsen, bounced to the outside and took it to the house for a 54-yard touchdown, also his longest run of the day.
Late in the third quarter, he barreled over a Hawai’i defender on his way to a 28-yard pickup.
Seven plays later, he capped off the drive with a 5-yard touchdown reception from Madsen.
Ashton Jeanty season stats
Following his output against Hawai’i, Jeanty has rushed 126 times for 1,248 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns this season, averaging 9.9 yards per carry.
His rushing yardage and rushing touchdown marks lead all FBS players. The next-closest rusher to Jeanty, Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson, is 311 yards behind him, making him the only FBS player who has eclipsed 1,000 yards on the ground this season.
Jeanty is on pace to finish the regular season with 2,496 rushing yards, which would put him 132 yards shy of Barry Sanders’ single-season FBS record.
However, Boise State is well-positioned to make the Mountain West championship game and will have a bowl game after that. If the Broncos win out, it’s possible they’ll earn the spot in the College Football Playoff reserved for the highest-rated conference champion from outside the Power Four leagues, giving Jeanty several more chances to break Sanders’ record if he maintains his current pace.
As of the completion of Week 7, Boise State’s only loss was a 37-34 defeat to No. 3 Oregon, against whom Jeanty rushed 25 times for 192 yards and three touchdowns.
Sanders finished his Heisman Trophy-winning 1988 season with 2,850 yards. At the time, the NCAA record book did not count bowl games as part of a player’s statistical profile, meaning Sanders’ 222 rushing yards in Oklahoma State’s Holiday Bowl victory against Wyoming were not included as part of his total for that season.
