For Ashton Jeanty to proceed to pad his Heisman Trophy resume within the eyes of voters, a statistic-packed recreation on the street towards one of many Mountain West’s most porous defenses appeared to be a should. Nonetheless, due to an damage and a surprisingly stout Wyoming protection, it regarded as if the junior working again wouldn’t have the ability to accomplish that activity on Saturday.
Nonetheless, when the Broncos wanted Jeanty probably the most, he got here by means of with a few of his most clutch runs of the season.
Behind 169 speeding yards from Jeanty, Boise State clinched a spot within the Mountain West title recreation with a hard-fought 17-13 choice over Wyoming that wasn’t determined till the sport’s ultimate seconds.
Boise State’s protection snuffed out Wyoming’s ultimate possibilities because the clock ran out, guaranteeing the 10-1 Broncos could be within the Mountain West Convention Championship Sport.
However Boise State would not have been in that place with out Jeanty’s fourth-quarter heroics. After leaving the sport early within the third quarter with an undisclosed damage, Jeanty did not return till 9:03 was left within the recreation.
Whereas he was out, Boise State’s offense sputtered. Nonetheless, when he returned, he lit a right away spark, working for 15 yards on his first contact of the drive. He would add runs of 20, 15 and three yards to get Boise State to the 2-yard line earlier than Jambres Dubar completed off the drive with what would ultimately show to be the game-winning landing.
Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson mentioned he thought of Jeanty’s fourth-quarter burst one other of his “Heisman moments” on an evening when the Broncos desperately wanted to search out an offensive rhythm.
“There are numerous Heisman moments this season by Ashton, ranging from recreation one to recreation 11,” Danielson mentioned. “That is why I inform folks, watch the movie. Watch the movie. Simply watch it. And what he is carried out by means of 11 video games, and what our crew’s been in a position to do, is particular.”
Issues began sluggish for Jeanty because the Cowboys restricted him to 5 yards on his first three carries. Nonetheless, his fourth tote of the sport went for 61 yards to offer the Broncos a 7-3 edge with 3:40 left within the first quarter.
That, nonetheless, could be one of many few early highlights for Jeanty towards Wyoming because the Cowboys restricted him to 116 yards on 13 carries earlier than his damage. Together with the 61-yard run, Jeanty averaged 8.9 yards per rush. Nonetheless, eight of these totes went for 4 yards or much less.
Jeanty totaled simply three carries within the second half earlier than being sidelined. He did, nonetheless, keep within the recreation lengthy sufficient to go over the two,000-yard mark on the season, marking the primary time since 2019 that an FBS rusher had hit that threshold.
Nonetheless, after a visit to the medical tent and standing on the sidelines for nearly 1 / 4, Jeanty was in a position to return when it mattered most.
“He is banged up,” Danielson mentioned. “Each time he touches the ball, there are 11 guys attempting to be a heat-seeking missile and discover him. That is a testomony to what he is carried out up to now. He is battle-tested.”
And so are the Broncos, a crew with hopes of continuous their quest by means of the convention and on to the CFP thanks to a different one among Jeanty’s many Heisman moments from the 2024 season.
All quotations obtained firsthand except in any other case famous.
