In last game on The Blue, Boise State’s Jeanty ready to attack UNLV’s top-10 run defense

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — Sitting at a long interview table alongside teammates in Albertsons Stadium’s Allen Noble Hall of Fame, Ashton Jeanty confirmed what nearly everyone in college football already knew.

When asked whether he’s thinking Friday night’s Mountain West championship game will be his last in a Boise State jersey on the iconic blue turf, Jeanty paused for a moment, and then answered with just three words: “Yes, I do.”

The surefire Heisman Trophy finalist has enjoyed a stellar junior season, leading not just the nation in rushing yards (2,288) and rushing touchdowns (28), but also the Broncos to a potential College Football Playoff berth and first-round bye.

Most NFL Draft boards have Jeanty going as a top-15 pick next spring. But before thinking about that too much, there is a lot of unfinished college business.

Jeanty is ready to face his most formidable challenge of the season with a historic playoff spot on the line.

No. 10 Boise State (11-1, 7-0 Mountain West) will host No. 20 UNLV (10-2, 6-1) at Albertsons Stadium at 6 p.m. The two teams played in the regular season in late October, with the Broncos defeating the Rebels 29-24 in Las Vegas.

Jeanty scored the winning touchdown in the fourth quarter of that game, but it was his toughest test of the season. The Rebels hit Jeanty like no other team, and he sustained an elbow injury in the game, which required a brace for his left arm in subsequent games. The medical staff was still wrapping the elbow in Boise State’s regular-season finale last week.

UNLV held Jeanty to 128 rushing yards, his lowest output of the season in a full game. He rushed for 127 yards in the first half against Portland State before not playing in the second half of a blowout victory. Jeanty also was held to 3.9 yards per carry by the Rebels, who gang-tackled the superstar every chance they got.

UNLV boasts the 10th-best rushing defense in the nation, giving up an average of just 101.1 yards per game.

“They’re a physical team,” Jeanty said. “But this program has been built on being the most physical, dominant team, and we will show that tomorrow.”

Strength vs. strength

Jeanty will have to keep an eye on linebacker Jackson Woodard. The senior was named Mountain West defensive player of the year earlier this week, while the Boise State star was offensive player of the year for the second straight season. Woodard led the Rebels with 114 tackles in the regular season. He also had four interceptions, tied for second-most by a linebacker in the nation.

“We know that our coaches are going to put together a great plan,” Woodard said Thursday. “And it’s up to us to be gap sound and then wrap (Jeanty) up, and once you wrap him up, don’t let go.”

Despite Jeanty’s low output compared to what he did all season, the conversation could be different without a couple of shoestring tackles that prevented him from taking off on big runs, which have become his trademark.

UNLV senior defensive back Johnathan Baldwin gave some insight into how the Rebels kept Jeanty from running wild.

“I think we did well with swinging the ball,” Baldwin said. “We had a lot of guys to the ball, and we knew what the main focus was that week. And we’re going into this week with the same mindset: swinging the ball.”

Jeanty said he thought the Rebels did a good job applying pressure and “twisting” the defensive line, making it challenging to identify the alignments and where the gaps might be.

“For us, it was ID’ing the fronts in the run game and just hitting our pitches. We didn’t do a great job at doing that,” Jeanty said. “And usually runs that we break, and I slipped on a run. … If we just do what we do better, then we’ll be able to execute the run game.”