Boise State freshman sets Frisco Bowl record as Broncos rally to beat Mean Green
According to Boise State’s depth chart, Ashton Jeanty is the Broncos’ backup running back.
But the 5-foot-8, 205-pound freshman played like a veteran Saturday in the Boise State football team’s 35-32 victory over North Texas in the Frisco Bowl at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
Jeanty set Boise State postseason and Frisco Bowl records for rushing yards, racking up a career-high 178 yards and one touchdown on 28 carries — an average of 6.4 yards per touch. The 178 yards are a Boise State postseason record, surpassing Rodney Webster’s record of 156 yards against Jackson State on Dec. 5, 1981.
Whether he was hurdling a defender or muscling his way to a 34-yard run on the Broncos’ opening play of the second half, Jeanty helped the Broncos collect a Frisco Bowl record 318 yards while playing in place of starter George Holani, who left the game in the second quarter with an injury and did not return.
“We have a big emphasis on just getting the drive started, just making positive plays even though it might be 3 or 4 yards,” Boise State quarterback Taylen Green said. “Ashton and George, they’re really, really talented. When they’re doing good, it just makes it a lot easier and it gives confidence to the O-line and to me.”
Boise State trailed 10-6 at halftime, but the offense finally started clicking in the second half when the Broncos put the game in the hands of Jeanty.
The former star at nearby Lone Star High in Frisco, Texas, scored a 1-yard touchdown that gave the Broncos a 35-24 lead early in the fourth quarter. Jeanty finished the game with six carries that went for 10 or more yards to surpass his previous career high of 109 rushing yards set against Fresno State on Oct. 8.
“The message at halftime was keep doing what we’re doing, but don’t stress, just be comfortable,” Green said. “We’ve been in this position before, and we trust the game plan, we trust the coaches, so we were just beating ourselves up — we had holding, we had false starts. We were just pressing too much, so we were telling ourselves to stay calm and keep doing what we do.”
Injuries pile up on defense
The Broncos played Saturday’s bowl game without the help of safety JL Skinner, cornerback Kaonohi Kaniho, nickel Tyreque Jones, safety Zion Washington, edge Demitri Washington and linebacker Ty Tanner, who were out with injuries.
With Kaniho out and fellow cornerback Caleb Biggers missing a portion of the game with an injury, redshirt sophomore Jaylen Clark was forced into action. Clark rose to the occasion, grabbing his first career interception and adding three pass breakups.
“It was awesome to see how certain guys stepped up,” Boise State coach Andy Avalos said.
Redshirt junior Alexander Teubner played in place of Skinner and entered having made 25 tackles all season. He finished the game with a career-high and team-leading 13 tackles, including one pass breakup and a half tackle for loss.
Playing in place of Demitri Washington, redshirt sophomore Gabe Hunter totaled seven tackles, including 1.5 for loss.
Sophomore Seyi Oladipo took over at nickel for Jones, registering nine tackles.
“We’ve talked about it all year, just being resilient, staying in the fight on the defensive side,” said linebacker Ezekiel Noa, who was named the Frisco Bowl’s Defensive MVP.
“No matter what the situation is going on, good or bad, we’ve always got to stay neutral and keep playing our game on the defensive side, because we know when we do that, we can be unstoppable.”
Dalmas climbs record book
Junior kicker Jonah Dalmas connected on two field goals against the Mean Green and now has 56 for his career, which ranks second in program history.
Kyle Brotzman holds the Broncos’ program record for made field goals with 67 from 2007 to 2010.
Dalmas made 23 field goals this season, which ranks as the fourth-most in a single season in Boise State history. Dalmas owns the single-season record of 26 set in 2021.
Dalmas scored 117 points on the season, tied for ninth in program history. He has 284 points in his career, ninth all-time.
Quick hits
The Broncos wore black jerseys, blue pants and blue helmets for the first time in school history. ... Team captains Scott Matlock and John Ojukwu were joined by Schramm and running back George Holani as game captains. ... North Texas won the coin toss and elected to receive. ... Boise State was led onto the field by running back Kaden Dudley, who carried the Dan Paul Hammer. ... Safety Alexander Teubner carried the American flag and wide receiver Billy Bowens carried the Bleed Blue flag. ... Saturday marked Boise State’s first game played on grass this season. ... Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Latrell Caples finished with career highs in receptions (six) and yards receiving (87). ... The Broncos’ 22 points in the third quarter marked the most in a quarter in Boise State football’s bowl history.
This story was originally published December 18, 2022 at 1:19 AM.
