Ashton Jeanty advances Heisman case with another 200-yard game against Hawaii

On Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty's first carry of the night, the star tailback rushed 13 yards. That big performance heralded a big night for the Heisman hopeful.

Boise State opened the scoring with a field goal from kicker Jonah Dalmas, and then Jeanty went wild.

He started the Broncos' second drive with a nine-yard run up the middle. Then he caught a short check-down from QB Maddux Madsen. Two plays later, the twenty-year-old from Jacksonville extended his highlight reel with a 54-yard touchdown run. Jeanty lined up deep in the backcourt of a pistol formation, waited patiently for a gap, then made a sharp leap to the right and charged down the sideline. He was surrounded by a horde of cheering teammates before any defender made contact. Boise State now led 10-0 with 5:48 left in the 1st period.

After Broncos DE Jayden Virgin-Morgan sacked QB Brayden Schager, Hawaii attempted a field goal, but kicker Kansei Matsuzawa's 39-yard attempt fell wide of the right net. With 14:55 left in the 2nd quarter, the Rainbow Warriors remained scoreless.

On the next Boise State drive, Madsen crawled right and threw a prayer shot into the end zone, which was answered by WR Cameron Camper with a confident touchdown that increased the lead to 16. After the replay, the touchdown was overturned. The away team's search for the end zone ended with another easy field goal attempt for Dalmas, which increased Boise State's lead to 13-0 with 7:06 left in halftime.

After a long delay due to a medical emergency, Hawaii took over. On third down with one yard left, Boise State safety Alexander Teubner intercepted a pass intended for WR Pofele Ashlock. Teubner's hit was checked for accuracy and after checking it was ejected. A 52-yard catch and run by WR Landon Sims put the Rainbow Warriors in the red zone. Schager was pushed back after a penalty, aimed deep into the right sideline and hit paydirt. His 27-yard touchdown pass to WR Tylan Hines put Hawaii behind 13-7 with 3:24 left in the first half.

Neither team was able to complete a successful two-minute drill, leaving Boise State up 13-7 at halftime.

Jeanty started the third quarter with back-to-back runs, but Hawaii's defenders piled on top of him. On third-and-7 down, Madsen Camper missed deep on his cleats, forcing the Broncos off the field. On the ensuing play, Rainbow Warriors special teams punter Taren Schive was tackled by Israel Solomon and received a roughing penalty. After a sack by Hawaii DL Elijah Robinson, the Broncos' offense stalled near midfield.

Hawaii ran 6:52 minutes after halftime in 14 games but failed to score any points; An attempted fourth-down conversion was aborted after an illegal procedure penalty cut the offense by five yards. Lucas Borrow's ensuing punt was fairly intercepted by Boise State returner Cooper Jones at the Broncos' nine-yard line.

Late in the third quarter, Boise State had a six-point lead and needed its star to shine, and Jeanty delivered. On 2nd-and-2 from the Boise State 16, he gained 13 yards. He followed with a 7-yard sweep and subsequent 27-yard blast up the middle into Hawaii territory. On 1st-and-5, Broncos QB Maddux Madsen rolled out and threw a strike to a wide-open Jeanty for Boise State's second touchdown. Thanks to WR Austin Bolt, a two-point conversion was successfully completed and the Broncos now led 21-7 with 12:00 left in the game.

A methodical 16-play drive by Hawaii reached the red zone but failed after a big hit from speedy safety Seyi Oladipo of Boise State. Needing two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, the Rainbow Warriors attempted a fourth down conversion, but Schager came under pressure and his hopeful throw toward the left pylons went out of bounds.

With just over five minutes left and a comfortable 21-7 lead, the Broncos trusted their playmaker to finish the game. Another 13-yarder from Jeanty moved the sticks, pushing him over 200 rushing yards on the night. After failing to convert on a third-and-short, the Broncos tried and ended up in paydirt. Hawaii's defense pounded the box to stop Jeanty, so Madsen faked a handoff to his star running back and then threw a pass over the middle to an open Bolt, who stiff-armed his defender and ran into the end zone. The 44-yard touchdown pass sealed Boise State's victory.

The final Hawaii drive ended on fourth-and-15 after Oladipo fended off a scramble attempt by the Rainbow Warriors' quarterback.

Jeanty would make one more run before being substituted after the two-minute timeout. He finished the night with 217 rushing yards on 31 carries and a 54-yard touchdown run, as well as 20 receiving yards on three catches and a five-yard touchdown catch.

#17 Boise State moves to 5-1 on the season with a bye next weekend. Their next game is at UNLV on Friday, October 25th, starting at 8:30 p.m. MT on CBS Sports Network.

Many thanks to the special contributor at G5 Football Daily Matt Bagley for his review this week.

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Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty was named a Midseason All-American by Reese's Senior Bowl