Genty is 13 years old and has 186 yards rushing as Boise State rolls around

Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty continued his record-chasing run to first place in the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night in the No. 21 Broncos’ 62-30 win over visiting Utah State.

Genty surpassed 1,000 receiving yards on the season in his only 90th campaign and produced 186 yards and three touchdowns on 13 attempts in the first half of the blowout win. He tied an FBS record for needing just five games to achieve 1,000 receiving yards.

“First off, Ashton Genty? Best player in the country. Next question,” Boise State coach Spencer Danielson said.

The junior running back has rushed for 1,031 yards and 16 touchdowns on 10.9 yards per carry for the 4-1 Broncos and is now averaging 206.2 yards per game. His 1,031 yards passing through five games ranks eighth in FBS history, according to ESPN research.

Genty turned his first carry against Utah State into a 63-yard touchdown. He then scored on a 75-yard run early in the second quarter, surpassing the Mountain West Conference single-season record for 70 yards in a season with his fourth. Jeanty has seven rushes of 60 yards or more on the campaign, tied for the most in the FBS in a single season over the past 20 years.

Boise State did not play Genty in the second half after taking a 49-17 lead into halftime. He also missed the second half of the Broncos’ 56-14 home win over FCS Portland State on September 21.

“It’s all about the team, and Ashton is the same way,” Danielson said. “We’re protecting him. We’re going to be smart with Ashton given how important he is to our team, and we need to make sure we get other reps in there. Also, at this point, I don’t know what the reasoning behind it is.” “His rushing yards were there, but we knew he had enough.”

The Broncos’ offense was dominant regardless, earning a win in the Mountain West opener with the program’s first 60-plus point performance since 2018. Quarterback Maddux Madsen threw for 256 yards and three touchdowns, and Boise State finished with 599 total yards to 1 -4 Agis.

Through five games, Genty is on pace with Barry Sanders’ record-breaking 1988 season. Sanders had 1,002 rushing yards on 130 carries through the first five games of his Heisman-winning season at Oklahoma State and went on to finish with an FBS record of 2,628 yards and 37 touchdowns.

Jeanty has emerged as the favorite to win the Heisman and was listed at 2.5-1 by ESPN BET on Saturday night. Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe was the betting favorite entering the day, but his odds were extended to 12-1 by ESPN BET after Vanderbilt upset the No. 1-seeded Crimson Tide earlier Saturday.

“I think he’ll be in New York for the Heisman,” Danielson said of Genty. “I think so, because I see him working. Because I see his teammate. This is not just a blip on the horizon.”