Ashton Jeanty is the Heisman favorite, and one stat perfectly illustrates why
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Ashton Jeanty is on pace to break the single-season FBS rushing record.
Melvin Gordon got close with Wisconsin in 2014, rushing for 2,587 yards and 29 touchdowns in 14 games. He fell 41 yards short. Since 1988, no one has been able to topple Barry Sanders’ 2,628-yard, 37-touchdown campaign for Oklahoma State. He has held the single-season NCAA records for both ever since. But Jeanty is in position to threaten the 2 marks that long seemed untouchable.
The Boise State running back has run for 1,248 yards and 17 touchdowns through his team’s first 6 games. As a result, he has surged from a deep longshot to become the betting favorite for the Heisman Trophy. At FanDuel, Jeanty is priced +230 to win the award.
Earlier this week, the Twitter account, Sickos Committee, shared a graphic that perfectly encapsulated just how ridiculous Jeanty’s first half of the season was.
Boise State's Ashton Jeanty has 1,248 rushing yards through Week 7.
Here are the 109 FBS teams with fewer rushing yards than Jeanty. pic.twitter.com/95NzjbyjoR
— Sickos Committee (@SickosCommittee) October 14, 2024
There are only 12 Power conference teams (Notre Dame included) with more than 1,248 rushing yards through the first 7 weeks of the season.
Jeanty leads the nation in rushing and rushing touchdowns. He ranks second among qualified players in yards per carry (9.9). He leads the nation in yards after contact (914), leads the nation in missed tackles forced (56), and is tied for third nationally in explosive runs (25).
Should he maintain his current output, Jeanty would break Sanders’ rushing record in his 13th game of the season. That might very well be the Mountain West conference title game.
Related reading: Heisman Watch, Week 7
He has cleared 100 yards in all 6 games this season, including both the Portland State and Utah State games in which he only played the first half. He has 3 games with at least 200 rushing yards and 4 games with at least 3 rushing touchdowns.
During an appearance on SportsCenter last week, he revealed a bet he has with his offensive linemen that if he fails to crack 2,000 rushing yards, he’ll cut his hair. If he clears 2,000 yards, one of the team’s linemen will get Jeanty’s rushing total tattooed on him.
Certainly puts the after-contact success in perspective. Jeanty is running with a purpose.
Jeanty actually has more yards after first contact this season than 58 FBS teams have altogether. He has completely taken over college football, from his backfield stance pre-snap to his punishing style post-snap.
Boise State is on a bye week this weekend. The Broncos return to the field next Friday when they travel to face UNLV at Allegiant Stadium.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
