The Broncos have rattled off three consecutive wins by an average of 31.6 points, and hitting 45 or more in all but one game this season. A huge part of that is Heisman Trophy candidate Ashton Jeanty.
The junior tailback rushed for 186 yards on only 13 carries, with three touchdowns in Boise State’s 62-30 win over Utah State on Saturday night. Jeanty is putting up video game numbers, and is becoming the reason to stay up well past the start of "Saturday Night Live" to see what he’ll do next.
Through five games, Jeanty has amassed 1,031 yards on only 95 carries. He broke the 1,000 mark with his 90th carry of the season, late in the first half, after the Broncos took a 49-17 lead into halftime. Jeanty opened the scoring with a 63-yard scamper on Boise State’s first play from scrimmage, after the Aggies went three-and-out.
Jeanty added a 75-yard touchdown on the Broncos’ first play from scrimmage in the second quarter, after Utah State scored on a 59-yard touchdown from Spencer Petras to Jalen Royals. Petras, the senior transfer from Iowa, threw for 372 yards and three touchdowns, hooking up again with Royals on a 75-yard score of their own to cut into Boise State’s lead at 35-17.
Jeanty added a 75-yard touchdown on the Broncos’ first play from scrimmage in the second quarter, after Utah State scored on a 59-yard touchdown from Spencer Petras to Jalen Royals. Petras, the senior transfer from Iowa, threw for 372 yards and three touchdowns, hooking up again with Royals on a 75-yard score of their own to cut into Boise State’s lead at 35-17.
The story on Saturday was Jeanty, but the underlying theme was how fast Boise State answered every single time Utah State put points up. The Broncos scored less than three minutes after a Utah State field goal to make it a 7-3 game. Jeanty’s 75-yarder was 12 seconds after the first Royals/Petras score. Dylan Riley took the ensuing kickoff back after their connection 96 yards for a score.
The two teams combined for 1,106 yards, 48 first downs, and only two turnovers. Maddux Madsen threw for 256 yards and three touchdowns of his own for Boise State, who are already looking ahead to their big matchup with UNLV on October 25 in Las Vegas. Madson has 1,056 yards passing through five games, and 10 touchdowns.
Ashton Jeanty has 16 touchdowns, all on the ground. To put his numbers into perspective for just a moment, the next closest rusher in the nation to Jeanty is Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson with 771. Jeanty is nearly two full games ahead of Johnson, and is currently on pace to break Barry Sanders’ single-season NCAA rushing record of 2,688. As the Mountain West loves to play lots of offense and very little defense, even if Jeanty’s pace slows, 2,000 should easily be obtainable by the close of the regular season. The Broncos rank first in the nation in scoring at 50.6, and second in rushing with a gaudy 301.2. Only Army’s 361.2 is better, which is offset by the Black Knights ranking second-worst in the country in passing (90.6). However, Army is 5-0, so the formula is working for the time being.
Johnson holds the school record with 1,713 yards, set during the Broncos’ now-legendary 2006 season that ended with a win in the Fiesta Bowl over Oklahoma. Johnson celebrated after scoring the game-winning two-point conversion by proposing to girlfriend Chrissy Popadics, the Broncos head cheerleader, on national television while being interviewed by Fox Sports’ Chris Myers.
Johnson ran for 4,158 yards during his career in Boise. Ashton Jeanty has 3,199 with still seven regular season games remaining. In 2023, Jeanty ran for 1,347 yards and 14 touchdowns, on 220 carries. Having already surpassed the touchdown mark, he is slated to shatter the yardage mark in at least 75 fewer carries.
Johnson holds the school record with 1,713 yards, set during the Broncos’ now-legendary 2006 season that ended with a win in the Fiesta Bowl over Oklahoma. Johnson celebrated after scoring the game-winning two-point conversion by proposing to girlfriend Chrissy Popadics, the Broncos head cheerleader, on national television while being interviewed by Fox Sports’ Chris Myers.
Johnson ran for 4,158 yards during his career in Boise. Ashton Jeanty has 3,199 with still seven regular season games remaining. In 2023, Jeanty ran for 1,347 yards and 14 touchdowns, on 220 carries. Having already surpassed the touchdown mark, he is slated to shatter the yardage mark in at least 75 fewer carries.
Boise State having the opportunity to run the table, except for the Oregon loss, is enjoyable and nostalgic. We have always thought of who could be the “next Boise State,” whether it would be James Madison, Texas State, Cincinnati, or a handful of others. The sequels often are never as good as the original, and especially not the remakes.
The only factor that can slow Jeanty the rest of the season would be Jeanty himself. Should the Broncos continue to blow opponents in the Mountain West out this way, Jeanty will get the fourth quarter off the rest of the season. When you put up numbers in three quarters that any other star tailback in the country could not do in four, you earn the right to take off as much time as head coach Spencer Danielson will allow.
-JC24
The only factor that can slow Jeanty the rest of the season would be Jeanty himself. Should the Broncos continue to blow opponents in the Mountain West out this way, Jeanty will get the fourth quarter off the rest of the season. When you put up numbers in three quarters that any other star tailback in the country could not do in four, you earn the right to take off as much time as head coach Spencer Danielson will allow.
-JC24