You’ve seen the highlights. The low-slung, bowling-ball frame of Ashton Jeanty bouncing off three defenders, spinning into open space, and somehow finding a second gear that a guy his size shouldn't have. But looking at the raw ashton jeanty game stats from the 2024 season is like staring at a glitch in a video game. It doesn’t quite feel real.
Honestly, we haven't seen a season like this in decades. Since Barry Sanders was making defenders look like they were wearing roller skates in 1988, the 2,000-yard mark has been the "Mount Everest" for college backs. Jeanty didn't just climb it; he set up a base camp and stayed there.
He finished the 2024 campaign with 2,601 rushing yards. That is the second-most in a single season in FBS history. He trailed Sanders’ legendary mark by just 27 yards. Think about that. One or two more carries in any of his 14 games and the record belongs to a kid from Boise State.
The Box Score That Broke the Mountain West
If you want to understand why NFL scouts were salivating by October, you have to look at the week-by-week ashton jeanty game stats. It wasn't just that he had big games; it was the absolute refusal to have a "bad" one.
The season opener against Georgia Southern was basically a warning shot. 20 carries. 267 yards. 6 touchdowns. He was averaging 13.4 yards every time he touched the ball. People figured, "Okay, it's Georgia Southern, let’s see him do it against the big boys."
Then came the Oregon game.
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Against a Ducks defense that eventually played for a national title, Jeanty put up 192 yards and 3 touchdowns. He proved he wasn't a "Group of Five" fluke. He was the best player on the field in Eugene, and it wasn't particularly close.
A Heavy Workload and Unrivaled Efficiency
Usually, when a back gets 30+ carries, their average per carry (YPC) starts to dip as they get tired. Jeanty just... didn't.
- Total Carries: 374
- Average Per Carry: 7.0
- Rushing Touchdowns: 29
- Games over 200 Yards: 6
Basically, he was a lock for 100 yards the moment he stepped off the bus. In fact, he rushed for over 100 yards in every single one of Boise State’s 14 games. That kind of consistency is unheard of in modern football where "running back by committee" is the norm.
Why the Yards After Contact Matter Most
Numbers can be deceiving. You can get 2,000 yards if you have a massive offensive line and wide-open holes. But the ashton jeanty game stats tell a story of a guy who did a lot of the work himself.
According to PFF, Jeanty finished the year with 1,889 yards after contact.
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Let that sink in for a second. If you took away every yard he gained before a defender touched him, he still would have led the nation in rushing. He forced 143 missed tackles. Most defenders had a better chance of catching a ghost than bringing him down on the first try.
He faced a "stacked box" (7 or more defenders near the line of scrimmage) a nation-high 266 times. Most backs would see their production plummet against those looks. Jeanty averaged 6.9 yards per carry against those heavy fronts. It was basically a math problem that defensive coordinators couldn't solve: no matter how many people they put in the gap, #2 was going to find a way through.
The Heisman Race and the "Power Four" Bias
There’s still a lot of debate about the 2024 Heisman Trophy. Jeanty ended up as the runner-up to Colorado’s Travis Hunter. It was the narrowest margin in years.
Some people argue that because Jeanty played in the Mountain West, his stats were "inflated." But when you look at the ashton jeanty game stats against Power Four opponents—Oregon, Washington State, and Oregon State—he was actually more productive. He averaged over 200 scrimmage yards per game in those matchups.
He did all this while being the focal point of every single defensive game plan. Every team Boise State played knew Jeanty was getting the ball 30 times. They still couldn't stop him.
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The Raiders Transition
After a legendary college run, the Las Vegas Raiders snatched him up with the 6th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Transitioning to the pros is never easy, but his rookie numbers showed that the "contact balance" translated just fine.
In his first NFL season, he flirted with 1,000 yards (975 rushing yards) despite playing behind a line that was—kinda struggling, to be honest. He still managed to force 61 missed tackles as a rookie, proving that the "bowling ball" style works just as well against 250-pound NFL linebackers as it did against college kids.
What's Next for the Boise State Legend?
If you're tracking his career, don't just look at the rushing totals. Look at the receiving. In 2023, he actually had over 500 receiving yards. While that took a backseat in 2024 because Boise State needed him to carry the rock 374 times, his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield makes him a perennial All-Pro candidate in the NFL.
For fans and collectors, the 2024 season remains the gold standard. We might not see another back touch 2,600 yards for another twenty years.
To really appreciate the greatness, go back and watch the UNLV game from the 2024 Mountain West Championship. 209 yards on 32 carries with a bum ankle. That game didn't just show off the stats; it showed the "dog" in him.
The best way to keep up with his career is to watch his Yards After Contact (YCO) stats specifically. While raw yardage depends on the offensive line, YCO tells you if Jeanty is still the same tackle-breaking machine that took over the country at Boise State. Keep an eye on his snap counts in passing situations too; if his NFL team starts using him more in the slot, his "all-purpose" numbers could easily top 2,000 yards at the professional level.