Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty is the breakout sensation of this year’s college football season. He’s come out of nowhere to become the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy (+270) at Caesars. That’s crazy considering he wasn’t even on the board until Sept. 9.
Jeanty’s become must-watch TV, and his player props for the Broncos’ game this week show just how dominant he’s been. The running back is -6600 to score a touchdown Saturday against Hawaii. Yes, you read that right … -6600!! His total rushing yards are set at 187.5 with the over -119 and the under -115.
So, why are his props so high? Well, that’s because he’s producing at a rate rarely seen before in college football.
Jeanty’s carried the ball 95 times through five games for 1,031 yards and 16 touchdowns. He’s also averaging 10.9-yards per carry as the Broncos climbed to No. 17 in the AP Top 25 rankings this week. Jeanty’s 13-game pace projects for 267 carries for 2,681 rush yards and 42 touchdowns.
To put things in perspective, Action Network’s Director of Research Evan Abrams compares Jeanty’s production to that of the great Barry Sanders. Through five games for Oklahoma State in 1988, Sanders carried the ball 130 times for 1,002 yards (8.5 ypc) and 19 touchdowns. He ended the year with 344 carries for 2,628 yards (7.7 ypc) and 37 touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Jeanty blows away the numbers through five games of the past three Heisman Trophy winning running backs. Alabama’s Derrick Henry had 93 carries for 570 yards and nine touchdowns in 2015, Mark Ingram had 83 carries for 487 yards and six touchdowns in 2009 and USC’s Reggie Bush had 71 carries for 601 yards and six touchdowns in 2005.
Jeanty broke out right away in Boise State’s 56-45 season-opening win over Georgia Southern, carrying the ball 20 times for 267 yards (13.4 ypc) and six touchdowns. He followed that up with a solid performance in the Broncos’ lone loss this season to the then-No. 7 ranked Oregon Ducks. He ran the ball 25 times for 192 yards (7.7 ypc) and three touchdowns in the 37-34 loss. It was after that showing that his Heisman Trophy odds were finally posted.
Jeanty’s found the end zone seven times over the past two weeks. He had 26 carries for 259 yards (10.0 ypc) and four scores against Washington State and followed that up by running the ball 13 times for 186 yards (14.3 ypc) and three touchdowns vs. Utah State.
