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Boise State football will soon host its fifth Mountain West Conference title game since 2017 when UNLV comes to town. Only this time, the Broncos have a lot more riding on their side at Albertsons Stadium. From Ashton Jeanty and his growing Heisman hype, to BSU securing a first-ever College Football Playoff appearance.
The running back Jeanty has delivered a season to remember for fans who head to the blue turf. He's the Broncos' lone 2,000-yard back and the program's first potential Heisman Trophy candidate since Kellen Moore in 2010. One more win, and Jeanty's Heisman chatter will add more leverage. Already, his head coach Spencer Danielson fired an indirect shot at Travis Hunter. The Buffaloes' two-way star remains the Heisman front runner.
But for Jeanty to seal one more case for winning college football's most prestigious individual honor, he has to put together one more game of the ages. He'll have to do it against a defense he, surprisingly, struggled against in 2024.
Will the nation see one more 200-yard game from Jeanty? Or will the Rebels bottle the Broncos' bell cow RB? Time to dive into the latest bold predictions for Jeanty.
Boise State's Ashton Jeanty will have his longest run under 20 yards
No, that's not a typo up above. Jeanty has broken off long scampers all year long. Defenses wear down because of him.
But UNLV emerges as the toughest challenge yet for the Heisman hopeful. The Rebels have the MWC's best run defense pulling up to the blue, allowing an average of only 101.1 yards per game.
Plus, Jeanty delivered his worst game against this same defense. UNLV bottled him to a 3.9 yard average. And Jeanty's best run was a 16-yarder.
UNLV will load the box against Jeanty
The Rebels brilliantly brought up multiple defenders to try and contain Jeanty in that Oct. 25 contest. Defensive coordinator Mike Scherer loaded up to nine defenders in the box, all in the name of slowing down the phenom.
Don't expect Scherer to scrap that philosophy, even though BSU escaped 29-24 in Sin City. His scheme became the blueprint on how to slow down Jeanty.
Granted, BSU has seen similar looks since that game. San Jose State lured nine near the line of scrimmage — and Jeanty still tallied 159 yards and scored three times in the 42-21 win on Nov. 16. The former Arkansas linebackers coach Scherer, though, is anticipated to draw up his most aggressive scheme yet for Jeanty.
Jeanty will find the end zone once
The more the carries, the higher the probability for Jeanty to score.
UNLV is bound to make Jeanty work. The Rebs will do everything in their power to keep him from breaking off a long scamper. He didn't score until the fourth quarter at Allegiant Stadium.
A swarm of white, red and silver jerseys will flock to Jeanty. But again, BSU and offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter will keep feeding Jeanty the ball until he crosses the goal line.
Jeanty will surpass 100 yards, but struggle to get there
The over/under will be 105 yards for Jeanty in facing this defense.
He'll only fail to reach the triple-digit mark if he leaves with an injury. Jeanty's stamina, though, isn't talked about much. He rarely looks out of breath after games even after all the carries he collects. Koetter's play-calling all but guarantees Jeanty will hit 30 carries. That massive amount of handoffs puts Jeanty over 100 yards.
But still, UNLV's run defense has minimized its mistakes. The fact Jeanty failed to gain 20 yards on any carry reveals how formidable this unit is.
There's more to this Rebels team. They're likely thinking about how close they got in the last two meetings against BSU. That includes the 2023 MWC Championship on their home turf. The Rebels would want nothing more than to deny the Broncos a conference crown — and become the reason Jeanty loses his grip on the Heisman race.
This MWC title game will come down to who has the best ground attack. Boise State, hands down, has the best RB. But Jeanty is facing a defense with redemption inside their brain cells. As long as he stays on the field, Jeanty will always be a 100-yard, multiple touchdown threat. But, he's facing his most lasered focused defense yet with the conference title, and CFP playoff spot, on the line.
