College Football

Ashton Jeanty has plenty left to prove; can he deliver on the biggest stage?

Updated Dec. 31, 2024 7:19 p.m. ET

FOX Sports National College Football Analyst

What makes Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty such a menace? What keeps defensive coordinators punching air in a press box and head coaches throwing tantrums? They nearly had him.

Right when everyone in the stadium — players, coaches and fans — thinks Jeanty is going to be tackled, he manages to escape, dropping a defender, vanishing, and then appearing 20 yards downfield.

Jeanty is a magic act. And his statistics are enchanting.

The junior running back has totaled 2,497 rushing yards heading into Boise State's College Football Playoff quarterfinal matchup against Penn State (7:30 p.m. ET, Tuesday at State Farm Stadium). Stack the three leading rushers at Penn State — Nick Singleton (928), Kaytron Allen (892) and Drew Allar (289) — against Jeanty's tally, and they still fall nearly 400 yards short of the Broncos' star back.

But here's the real reason why Jeanty is a true magician on the gridiron: 1,889 of those 2,497 rushing yards have come after contact. If we only counted those yards after contact, he would still be the nation's leading rusher … by 229 yards.

Ashton Jeanty 2024 Boise State Broncos Full Season Highlights

There are those who will say Jeanty hasn't done it against elite competition. Against top-ranked Oregon back on Sept. 8, he cooked the Ducks, tore out their guts, and served up their liver as pâté with 192 yards and three touchdowns. And yes, as it turns out, that was just an "average" game for Jeanty, who has averaged 192.1 rushing yards per game this season.

Jeanty has created the same number of missed tackles through 13 games as Penn State linebackers Kobe King (80) and Abdul Carter (63) have combined. He is the best back any of these Penn State defenders have seen in their careers and the best to step on any field with the Nittany Lions since Saquon Barkley broke records of his own at Beaver Stadium.

Tuesday night's Fiesta Bowl showdown should be a strength-on-strength matchup, as the Nittany Lions don't make a habit of allowing opponents' running backs to eat. They're so stingy at the cookout that they write their name on the plastic wrap across four plates and two whole pots.

Tom Allen's group has only allowed one 100-yard rusher this season: USC's Woody Marks, who rushed for 111 yards in the Trojans' 33-30 loss to the Nittany Lions back on Oct. 12. But an off day — and by "off day," I mean like a Sunday in the South — for Jeanty is rushing for 127 yards against Portland State on 11 rushes.

It's important to note that Jeanty is chasing multiple records in this matchup against Penn State. He needs just 3 yards to become only the third player in the 155-year history of the sport to rush for 2,500 yards in a season. He is just 131 yards away from Barry Sanders' vaunted single-season record of 2,628 yards. And yes, he's going to get more than 11 rushes to chase the greatest prize: immortality.

For now, Jeanty doesn't need to consider that Sanders set the single-season rushing mark in 1988 in just 11 games. He doesn't need to know that we don't count Sanders' 222 rushing yards in the Holiday Bowl.

That's for us to consider. And it is a concern.

The NCAA changed its policy to include bowl game stats starting in 2002 as the number of bowl games grew — 28 bowls then compared to 36 — and the desire for conformity within the sport grew parallel with it. As bowl games transformed from mere exhibition games into ways to crown one true national champion, the statistics created in those games gained importance.

Former associate athletic director John Heisler told the Associated Press he believed the average fan probably thought bowl game stats were included by the NCAA.

"I'm not sure it's going to make a big difference," Heisler said.

Just wait until we begin including total snaps as a recognized and valued statistic, something that's hard to ignore when talking about the 2024 Heisman Memorial Trophy winner, Colorado's Travis Hunter.

In the closest vote in 15 years, Hunter beat out Jeanty. Among those who believed he was robbed of the trophy awarded to the most outstanding player in the sport is Jeanty himself.

"I really felt like I should've walked away with the award, but kudos to Travis for winning," Jeanty said.

"Kudos" is an ancient Greek word meaning "glory." Now is the moment to run yours down, Ashton.

You told us how you really feel. You're leading a team we think is unfit for the No. 3 seed. You're playing against a perennial power in this sport. You're a three-star recruit whose best offer outside of Boise State was Cal.

So you ran through the Mountain West. We don't believe that's a worthy test. We believe you've got more to do.

Ashton Jeanty on emotions following Mountain West Championship – 'I'm a dog'

Don't make the mistake of believing you've got nothing left to prove. Don't make the mistake of believing you've won the gift we give Barry Sanders and Reggie Bush.

It's not enough to run for 132 yards against the Nittany Lions. It's not enough to be slated as a potential first-round selection in the 2025 NFL Draft. You've left the tame territories. This is Rome. The coliseum demands more.

You're better than Hunter? Greater than Sanders? You want our unfettered adoration? Then run it down. Be the man standing center stage on Jan. 20 when we crown a national champion.

Begin taking action now.

Show us. Win us. Win.

RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the podcast "The Number One College Football Show." Follow him at @RJ_Young.

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