BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Nevada travels to No. 12 Boise State on Saturday with the daunting task of trying to slow down Ashton Jeanty.
Jeanty is leading the nation in rushing with 1,525 yards through eight games and is a big reason why the Broncos are in the driver’s seat as they try to earn a bid as the Group of Five representative in the College Football Playoff.
"We are taking on a juggernaut this week,” Nevada coach Jeff Choate said, “and everybody is going to focus on Ashton Jeanty and the historic year he’s having. But what good players do is they make other players around them better. And that’s what Jeanty does.”
Choate, who was the co-defensive coordinator at Texas before taking the head job at Nevada before this year, has struggled to find sustained success with the Wolfpack (3-7, 0-4 Mountain West) in an injury-marred season.
Boise State (7-1, 4-0) also has a first-year head coach in Spencer Danielson. But his season has been markedly different as he has the Broncos sitting atop the Mountain West.
“We are relentless to continue to improve here and we need to, especially in games we need to win like against a really good Nevada team,” Danielson said. “We know we’re going to get Nevada’s best, and they’re going to get our best, too."
The game is a homecoming of sorts for Choate, his first return to Boise State since leaving in 2012. He coached at Boise State from 2006-2011, serving as the special teams coach along with other defensive units.
But if Nevada’s going to pull off the upset, Choate has his work cut out for him, especially with a squad hampered by injuries to key players, chiefly starting middle linebacker Tongiaki Mateialona.
“I’m not going to use the injury piece as a crutch, but everybody is a different team when they don’t have all their players,” Choate said.
Mateialona’s absence has been stark. Two weeks ago, Nevada yielded 242 rushing yards to Hawaii, which had entered that game averaging 83.8 yards rushing per game.
When asked about dual-threat quarterback Brendon Lewis against a stingy Boise State defense, Choate was emphatic about his importance as a key to the game.
“(Having Lewis) is almost a must,” Choate said. “Their edges are really good and they do a really good job of mixing coverage looks, too.”
Lewis' mobility — he’s the team’s second-leading rusher with 660 yards along with seven touchdowns — will be key in neutralizing Boise State’s attack-minded defense, which leads the FBS with 4.75 sacks per game.
Boise State quarterback Maddux Madsen’s performance will be pivotal for the Broncos if Nevada can contain Jeanty.
Last week against San Diego State, Madsen threw for a career-high 307 yards and four TDs after the Aztecs committed to stopping Jeanty.
If there’s one glaring flaw in the Boise State defense, it is found in the unit’s penchant for giving up explosive plays. The Broncos have yielded 23 plays of 30 yards or more this season, which ranks 114th among FBS programs.
Choate has taken note.
“Nobody has really moved the ball consistently well against Boise State,” Choate said, “but they have given up some explosive plays.”
Although Nevada has played two more games than Boise State, the Wolfpack defense has also yielded 45 plays of 20 yards or more, 17 of which went for more than 30 yards.
At nearly every press conference this season, Danielson has reiterated his belief that Jeanty is “the best player in college football.” And the statistics back that up.
As the unquestioned leader of the Boise State offense, Jeanty averages 200.75 all-purpose yards per game to lead the nation. He also leads the FBS in rushing touchdowns (20) and total touchdowns (21), and is second in scoring per game (15.8) and yards per carry (8.03).
“He’s actually fun to watch,” Choate said. “You watch him and you’re like, ‘That was pretty impressive.’ One of the things he does better than other runners is that he uses his off-hand as a weapon. And when people try to tackle him low a lot of times, that’s not a winning proposition because he uses that stiff arm.”
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football