I have to say that I really appreciate all the hard work put in by the AP journalists that cover college football. I get so much of my data from their research and reporting but sometimes what’s not written or maybe researched in its entirety is important as well. Take the case of Boise State’s amazingly talented running back Ashton Jeanty who along with Cam Ward is probably Travis Hunter’s only competition for the Heisman Trophy this year. Jeanty leads the nation in rushing yards and it’s not even close with RJ Harvey, a senior RB for UCF, trailing by 711 yards. His 226 yards rushing and a TD in Boise State’s 34-18 win over Oregon State this past Friday prompted the AP to write the following in their Recap for ESPN. “Jeanty’s performance moved him into fifth place among FBS all-time single-season rushing leaders, leaving him 54 yards behind fourth-place Marcus Allen. Jeanty trails record-holder Barry Sanders, who rushed for 2,628 yards in 1988, by 340 yards with at least two more games guaranteed.”
Currently with 2,288 yards and an average of 190 yards per game Jeanty could surpass Sanders in two more games. But, let’s put that information into context. Before 2002, bowl games weren’t counted in your season’s statistics and Sanders’ regular season was just 11 games while Jeanty just played his 12th. So, if he does play in two more games and runs his average he will pass Barry Sanders official 11 game record, but it will take him fourteen games to do it. And if you add in the bowl game Barry Sanders played in that year—his 12th game—his total would be 2,850 yards to go along with 44 all-purpose TD’s. He ran 29 times for 222 yards and five rushing TD’s in that game—the most in the history of the Holiday Bowl.
I’ve been watching football and sports in general for sixty plus years and there are rare cases of players in each who seem to transcend the game and whose performance seems almost other worldly. For me Barry Sanders is on that list. While playing for the Detroit Lions for ten years he never rushed for less than 1,100 yards and recorded 1,500 yards four seasons in a row. But in watching Sanders it was never just about the yards it was about how he did it. As one writer put it; “Barry Sanders’ electrifying runs were more than just thrilling highlights, they were poetry in motion . . . [making] an art form out of turning seemingly sure losses into breathtaking gains, evading would-be tacklers with a trademark combination of grace and explosiveness . . . an artist on the field [who was] one with the turf . . . the ultimate improvisational actor. He was like a magician . . . [he would be right in front of you] and then . . . just like that, poof, he was gone.” It was sweet.
In this one Boise State scored back-to-back TD’s to start the game while holding the Beavers to a couple of three-and-outs and were ahead 14-0 at the end of the 1st Qtr. Halfway through the second the Broncos would fumble the ball one yard outside the Oregon State red zone. After a nine yard pickup by Freshman RB Salahadin Allah, Junior Anthony Hankerson would take a handoff from QB Ben Gulbranson and run it 83 yards to the house to close within a TD at 14-7. But with less than two minutes left in the half Boise State would take it 75 yards in 8 plays and score again on an a 6 yard TD pass to Senior WR Latrell Caples from Sophomore QB Maddux Madsen to make it 21-7 at the break.
Boise State would start off their offense of the second half with back-to-back field goals with Oregon State matching their first field goal and then scoring a TD after their second to make it a 27-18 game early in the 4th Qtr. Neither team would get anything done during their next two possessions but with less than three minutes left in the game and after Oregon State failed to convert on a 4th and 8, the Broncos would take it in six plays later from a wildcat formation on a 3 yard run by Madsen to make it 34-18 with less than a minute left. After completing a 13 yard pass for a 1st down to Hankerson, Gulbranson would throw four incompletions in a row to end it.
For Oregon State Junior QB Ben Gulbranson connected on 21-of-37 for 226 yards and 1 TD to Junior WR Darrius Clemons, his primary receiver who collected 8 for 123 yards. Collectively Clemons, Junior WR Trent Walker and Senior TE Jermaine Terry II combined on 15 receptions for 212 of that 226 yard total. On the ground it was Junior RB Anthony Hankerson leading the way with 11 carries for their only rushing TD and 110 of their 116 total yards on the ground. For Boise State, Sophomore QB Maddux Madsen was 17-of-33 for 196 yards, 2 TD’s—one each to Senior WR’s Latrell Caples and Austin Bolt—and no interceptions while rushing 8 times for 37 more yards and one of their two TD’s on the ground with Jeanty picking up the other along with 228 of their 270 yard total. Oregon State needed to win this one to become bowl eligible and won’t play their next game until they open up the 2025 season at home in Corvallis against Cal on Saturday, August 30th.