Heisman Trophy candidate Ashton Jeanty had a week to rest his body, and that can’t be comforting for the UNLV defense.
Jeanty aims to continue his superlative season when No. 17 Boise State comes off a bye to visit the Rebels in a Mountain West showdown on Friday night in Las Vegas.
The Broncos (5-1, 2-0 MW) have been carried by their star running back, who has topped 200 rushing yards three times this season while averaging a stellar 9.9 yards per carry. Jeanty leads the nation with 1,248 rushing yards and is tied for second with 17 rushing touchdowns.
Jeanty appears to be thinking about making a run at Barry Sanders’ single-season record of 2,628 yards in 1988 for Oklahoma State. Sanders’ mark doesn’t include his bowl game performance (he ended with 2,850) as postseason games didn’t count in stats at the time.
When Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter made comments about being a one-of-a-kind performer, Jeanty offered his own retort.
“For me, what I’ve been doing hasn’t been done in 36, 37 years, so that’s something special,” Jeanty said. “If I keep that up and break a record that’s been around for 36 years, I feel like you can’t really compete with that.”
The Rebels (6-1, 2-0) rank 20th in rushing defense at 104.4 yards per game as they look to contain Jeanty, who might be the sport’s biggest breakaway threat since Sanders. Jeanty has eight touchdown runs of 50-plus yards plus a non-scoring run of 68 yards.
UNLV coach Barry Odom called Jeanty “one of the great players in college football” while struggling to find a historical comparison.
“He runs so hard,” Odom said. “He runs behind his pads. He’s got great vision. He’s got a good offensive line and tight ends that block for him. … He’s got great strength, body control, leverage. He’s tough, he’s fast, he’s quick, he’s strong.
“I don’t know … if I’ve touched on even enough to give him the respect of how great of a player he is.”
The Rebels are well-equipped to battle the Broncos if the game should go the shootout route. Both teams rank in the nation’s top five in scoring — Boise State is third at 46.8 points per game and UNLV is fifth at 43.6.
Rebels receiver Ricky White III has caught 46 passes for 614 yards and nine touchdowns. His 21 career scoring receptions are tied for fourth in school history with Sam Greene (1979-80).
White has also blocked a school-record three punts this season and is the national leader in blocked punts/kicks.
UNLV’s Hajj-Malik Williams has passed for 10 touchdowns and rushed for four. He has been intercepted twice in 88 attempts.
Rebels star linebacker Jackson Woodard leads the squad with 63 tackles. Woodard and safety Jalen Catalon each have four interceptions, tied for second nationally with five other players.
Woodard hasn’t forgotten the talents of Jeanty, who rushed for 153 yards and one score on 21 carries when Boise State routed host UNLV 44-20 in last season’s Mountain West title game.
“He’s a really good player. He was last year. He is this year,” Woodard said of Jeanty. “We’re going to have to be our best to stop him.”
The Rebels have already clinched bowl eligibility and are in line to go to a bowl game in back-to-back seasons for the first time in school history.
Boise State has won nine of the 12 previous meetings — including the past seven.
“We all know this is a big-time game,” Broncos coach Spencer Danielson said. “It’s a big-time opponent, it’s a big-time arena, it’s on Friday night. When I watch their film, regardless of the record, this is a really good football team. And I know I’m not the only one saying that.”
