It’s only the first week of the season, but Ashton Jeanty kept Boise State’s playoff chances alive and secured a spot in the Heisman Trophy fight on Saturday afternoon.
Jeanty scored a ridiculous six rushing touchdowns in the Broncos’ 56-45 win over Georgia Southern. His final touchdown of the day — a 75-yard run that finally gave the Broncos the lead after the Eagles threatened to pull off an upset in the second half — set a new school record and tied 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 breakout run of 77 yards that put the Broncos on the board after one play on 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 hauling in two short runs to cap deep drives midway through the second quarter. His fourth touchdown, a five-yard run, set his career high for a single game.
The Eagles came back in the third quarter, thanks to an 18-yard reception from Dalen Cobb just before halftime and then back-to-back touchdowns just after halftime to suddenly take the lead for the first time.
Jeanty responded, though, 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 ultimately secured the victory. The passing touchdown was his only of the night.
Madsen went 22-of-31 for 280 yards with a touchdown and an interception to give Boise State its first opening-game win since the 2020 campaign. The Broncos had 651 yards as a team.
Jeanty rushed for 1,347 yards and 14 touchdowns last season while earning Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year honors. The Broncos are favorites to clinch the final College Football Playoff spot, which is designated for the top Group of Five school this season. They face No. 3 Oregon next week in Eugene in what will be their biggest test of the season.
While Jeanty still needs to deliver to stay in the running for the Heisman Trophy, he and the Broncos have both gotten off to a strong start in the playoffs and will remain in the national spotlight this fall.
