Boise State's Ashton Jeanty Says He's 'Super Fresh' for Fiesta Bowl Date With Penn State

Since its victory in the Mountain West championship game, Boise State has enjoyed three weeks of rest leading into its College Football Playoff debut against Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl. Broncos Running back Ashton Jeanty, the Heisman Trophy runner-up, will have 24 days off between games, a luxury for the player who led the nation with 344 carries this season.

With the break, Jeanty said he feels as fresh as he has since the start of the season, when he ran for 267 yards and six touchdowns against Georgia Southern.

“It's a great feeling, I'll say that,” Jeanty said. “Obviously, you want the ball in your hands. But time off, recovery, rest, sleep, that's the best thing you can have as an athlete. … Last time I was feeling this super fresh, you [saw] what I did. Hopefully not just me, but the whole offense and defense, we can all play our best game.”

The break was especially important for Jeanty, who suffered an elbow injury during the conference title game. He said Thursday that his elbow is “completely healed up” as the Broncos prepare to face Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year's Eve. While the time off benefited Jeanty from an injury and wear-and-tear perspective, Boise State offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter would have preferred to keep playing while the team was hot. The Broncos have won 11 straight games, including the Mountain West championship, dating to September.

“I think most teams that are playing well would rather play than rest,” Koetter said. “The time off scares me more than I think it helps us, with a couple of exceptions.”

Boise State has been practicing since its 21-7 win over UNLV, but Koetter said the practice field isn’t the same as a real game, especially with the jump from Mountain West competition to a playoff team in Penn State.

“Going against your scout team every day is different than going against any real team, let alone a team that's as good as Penn State,” Koetter said. “The speed difference and then just time off. It's been a really good schedule that Coach [Spencer] Danielson put together, as far as giving guys time off for Christmas, giving guys enough time to get their bodies back. But that's just me personally. I would rather keep playing. But that's just me."

The Nittany Lions had a healthy two-week break after the Big Ten championship game before making their playoff debut last weekend in a 38-10 win over SMU. In that game, Penn State’s defense led the charge with two first-half pick-sixes. SMU running back Brashard Smith was one of the best running backs in the ACC, boasting 1,270 yards rushing on a 5.8-yard average going into the playoff game. But the Nittany Lions held Smith to 62 yards on 18 attempts.

“They got some really good players,” Jeanty said about Penn State’s defense. “Their front seven is elite, great linebackers, great D-line. They do a lot: blitzes, pressures, moving the D-line, stunts and all that. We know for sure we're going to get some seven-, eight-man surfaces. That's just natural from all the defenses we've seen. But we're going to have to play a great game, stay ahead of the chains. They're one of the best teams on third-and-long. So we want to stay out of those situations.”

The Nittany Lions allowed only one 100-yard rusher all season — USC’s Woody Marks. Meanwhile, Jeanty has run for at least 100 yards in every game and for 200+ in six games. That includes a game against No. 1 Oregon, where he had 25 carries for 192 yards and three touchdowns in a 37-34 loss.

Jeanty is 5-9, which some of Penn State’s players didn’t realize until scouting Boise State. “I didn’t know he was that short,” Nittany Lions safety Jaylen Reed said. “He’s real compact.” Which only makes him more difficult to tackle.

“He’s special,” Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Allen said. “I’ve enjoyed — well I don’t know if I’ve enjoyed it — but it’s been impressive to watch his film. Studying him, the thing that sticks out is, he just doesn’t go down.”

The Broncos enter the Fiesta Bowl as 11-point underdogs, according to DraftKings. If Boise State wants to prove people wrong — which it has a history of doing in the Fiesta Bowl — that will start on the ground with the nation’s top running back against one of the nation’s top run defenses.

“Ashton brings a whole other aspect to our offense,” Boise State quarterback Maddux Madsen said. “What he does is obviously insane. No one has ever seen it. He still is the best player in college football, in my opinion; in a lot of people's [opinions].”

More Penn State Football

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What Boise State said about Penn State ahead of the Fiesta Bowl

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Sam Woloson has covered Penn State Athletics for the past three years and is currently the managing editor of The Daily Collegian. His work has also appeared in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Huntingdon Daily News and Rivals. Follow him on X @sam_woloson