It’s just the first week of the season, but Ashton Jeanty kept Boise State’s playoff hopes alive and vaulted himself into the Heisman Trophy race on Saturday afternoon.
Jeanty racked up a ridiculous six rushing touchdowns in the Broncos’ 56-45 road win over Georgia Southern. His final touchdown of the day — a 75-yard run that finally put the Broncos up for good after the Eagles were threatening to pull off the upset in the second half — set a new school record and matched a Mountain West record for most rushing touchdowns in a single game. Jeanty finished with a career-high 267 rushing yards on 20 carries.
Jeanty scored twice in the first quarter, including a 77-yard breakout run that put the Broncos on the board just one play into their first offensive drive of the afternoon.
After a 26-yard run late in the first quarter, Jeanty put the Broncos up 28-9 after he powered in two short runs that capped deep drives midway through the second quarter. His fourth touchdown, a five-yard run, set his career-high for a single game.
The Eagles rallied back in the third quarter, thanks to an 18-yard reception from Dalen Cobb just before halftime and then back-to-back touchdowns right after the break — which suddenly put them in the lead for the first time.
Jeanty, however, responded with a pair of touchdowns — including his 75-yard burst early in the fourth — to finally break the game open. Sire Gaines followed it up with a 38-yard touchdown run, and then Maddux Madsen threw a 17-yard touchdown to Gaines that put them up by 19 and eventually sealed the win. The passing touchdown was his only one of the night.
Madsen finished throwing 22-of-31 for 280 yards with a touchdown and an interception, which marked Boise State’s first opening-game win since the 2020 campaign. The Broncos had 651 yards as a team.
Jeanty ran for 1,347 yards and 14 touchdowns last season when he earned Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year honors. The Broncos have been a favorite to snag the final College Football Playoff spot, which is designated for the best Group of Five school this season. They’ll take on No. 3 Oregon in Eugene next week in what will be their biggest test of the season.
While it will take several repeat performances from Jeanty to keep himself in the Heisman Trophy conversation, both he and the Broncos are off to a great start to making the postseason and staying in the national conversation this fall.