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Boise State football running back Ashton Jeanty got a humble shoutout from college football icon Barry Sanders. The Broncos running back will face No. 20 UNLV in a game with massive College Football Playoff implications. Jeanty is on pace towards history. The star tailback of head coach Spencer Danielson's team is 341 yards from breaking Sanders' all-time rushing record.
Boise State and Ashton Jeanty have a chance to shock the world
A lot is at stake for Jeanty and his program on Friday night. Boise State has a history of fielding elite teams that never got a shot at competing for a national title. The Broncos went undefeated in 2006 and 2008, ending both seasons with Fiesta Bowl victories. Those teams never had the opportunity that the 2024 Broncos have before them. The twelve-team College Football Playoff gives a program like Boise State the chance to compete for a national title that it never had before.
In 2024, the Broncos did a great job teaching the public how this new system works. Going into the year, many people assumed that the conference winner from the Group of 5 would automatically be the twelve seed. Unfortunately, for the Big 12 conference, that is not the case! The latest College Football Playoff rankings have the Broncos at No. 10, making them the fourth-highest-ranked conference leader. Still, this whole scenario of whether Boise State can get a bye depends on Friday and Saturday night.
The Broncos are likely eliminated from the College Football Playoff with a loss. Despite a solid resume with good wins against Washington State and UNLV, Boise State's 86th strength of schedule ranking would come back to bite them in this scenario. If Spencer Danielson's team wins against the Rebels, it should at least get the No. 4 seed. At this stage in the season, the Big 12 champion between No. 15 Arizona State and No. 16 Iowa State is very unlikely to pass the Broncos.
A Broncos' victory also makes the ACC championship game between No. 8 SMU and No. 17 Clemson more significant. Should the Tigers pull the upset, the Broncos would likely get the No. 3 seed. It's fair to question whether that would be good or bad news when considering possible matchups. Right now, the fifth seed in the rankings is No. 3 Penn State, and the sixth seed is No. 4 Notre Dame. Either team would be a formidable opponent in a potential quarterfinal.
Overall, these scenarios are not important to the Broncos tonight. Getting a first-round bye would be the ideal situation for Boise State, regardless of the quarterfinal matchup. But that road only begins with a win on Friday. Ashton Jeanty will likely need multiple games to break Barry Sanders' rushing record. It would be in Boise State's interest to give him as many games as possible to get him 341 more yards.
