Ashton Jeanty has plenty left to prove; can he deliver on the biggest stage?

What makes Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty such a menace? What keeps defensive coordinators punching air in a press box and head coaches throwing tantrums? They nearly had him.

Right when everyone in the stadium — players, coaches and fans — thinks Jeanty is going to be tackled, he manages to escape, dropping a defender, vanishing, and then appearing 20 yards downfield. 

Jeanty is a magic act. And his statistics are enchanting.

The junior running back has totaled 2,497 rushing yards heading into Boise State's College Football Playoff quarterfinal matchup against Penn State (7:30 p.m. ET, Tuesday at State Farm Stadium). Stack the three leading rushers at Penn State — Nick Singleton (928), Kaytron Allen (892) and Drew Allar (289) — against Jeanty's tally, and they still fall nearly 400 yards short of the Broncos' star back.

But here's the real reason why Jeanty is a true magician on the gridiron: 1,889 of those 2,497 rushing yards have come after contact. If we only counted those yards after contact, he would still be the nation's leading rusher … by 229 yards.

There are those who will say Jeanty hasn't done it against elite competition. Against top-ranked Oregon back on Sept. 8, he cooked the Ducks, tore out their guts, and served up their liver as pâté with 192 yards and three touchdowns. And yes, as it turns out, that was just an "average" game for Jeanty, who has averaged 192.1 rushing yards per game this season.

Jeanty has created the same number of missed tackles through 13 games as Penn State linebackers Kobe King (80) and Abdul Carter (63) have combined. He is the best back any of these Penn State defenders have seen in their careers and the best to step on any field with the Nittany Lions since Saquon