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The 2024 season has been all about scoreboard topsy-turvy. Well, it’s now like a domino effect as the craze has already plagued the Heisman race. This time around, it’s all about Boise State Broncos running back Ashton Jeanty. The athlete reeled in all the limelight helping the Broncos to ace victory over Utah State Aggies 62-30. Looks like, Jeanty made the most use of the bye week bolstering his skills. And here he is today on the same line with the last three RBs including Reggie Bush who bagged the bronze-cast stiff-arm trophy. Meanwhile, the Jeanty effect is already causing ripples in college football, as Shedeur and Hunter get pushed to the backseat.   

Jeanty now comes off as the best running back in college football. However, it has been no easy task as he carried the burden of the highest workload. Yet he emerged victorious with a fabulous win over Hawaii with a super late kick time. In the 62-30 Broncos ‘boisterous’ feat, Jeanty made an immense contribution carrying the ball 31 times for 217 yards and came with a rushing touchdown. However, analysts are no longer interested in his single stint. Instead, Rivals.com came up with something unique. They took into account Jeanty’s stats through 6 games vs. the last three RB Heisman winners.

 

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Going by Ashton Jeanty’s stats, the RB came with 1248 yards, 17 rushing touchdowns and 126 carries. We will have to go back nine years to 2015 to the last time an RB won the Heisman trophy. It was none other than the then Crimson Tide RB Derrick Henry. If we consider Henry’s stats, the ex-Bama player reeled in 665 rushing yards, 10 rushing touchdowns, and 120 carries.

In that case, Jeanty is much ahead of Henry. The same is applied to the 2009 Heisman winner RB Mark Ingram who reeled in 659 rushing yards, and 7 rushing touchdowns. Before Ingram, it was the USC Trojans RB Reggie Bush who was crowned the Heisman winner in 2005. Coming off as a powerful contender, Jeanty is the one behind the Colorado controversy.         

Ashton Jeanty displaces Shedeur and Hunter from the Heisman race

Walking into the 2024 kickoff, the Buffs’ dynamic duo Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter has been hailed as the Heisman favorites. Sadly, their good times have been short-lived. The Buffs QB’s graph this season has been all about crests and troughs. As he got stripped off after getting sacked five times against Nebraska, he regained his lost honor by acing the Hail Mary Pass against Baylor Bears. 

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With Jeanty leading the charge, are running backs making a comeback in the Heisman race?

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But again he got thrown under the bus after he made a costly mistake for throwing a 50-50 ball to WR Will Sheppard only to get deflected by Kansas State giving the Buffs a turnover on downs. While Hunter has been consistent with his performance, the Buffs dual-threat will now have to spend some time on the sidelines after sustaining a shoulder injury while facing off against the Kansas State.

Taking all this into consideration, CBS Sports analyst Danny Kanell dropped a list of the Heisman odds. To everyone’s surprise, neither Shedeur nor Hunter found a spot. The first position went to Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel, followed by Hurricanes QB Cam Ward at no. 2, Ashton Jeanty at No.3 while the fourth and fifth spots went to Clemson QB Cade Klubnik and Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia. Well, Jeanty is the lone running back in this sea of quarterbacks. Does it hint at anything special going to happen? 

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Besides, if you would like to explore concepts like NIL and NFL, you can check out the latest episode of the Think Tank podcast. 

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With Jeanty leading the charge, are running backs making a comeback in the Heisman race?