Penn State says it resolved to stop Jeanty's record pursuit - ESPN

GLENDALE, Ariz. — As the Penn State players made their way through the tunnel and into the bowels of State Farm Stadium after a historic 31-14 win against No. 3 seed Boise State on New Year's Eve, 305-pound defensive tackle Dvon J-Thomas had a bounce in his step as he yelled, «Jeanty who?!» before disappearing into the locker room.

Penn State and Boise State had never played each other before Tuesday night's College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the VRBO Fiesta Bowl, but the Nittany Lions were all too familiar with No. 2 — Heisman Trophy runner-up Ashton Jeanty, who entered the game 131 yards shy of tying Barry Sanders' FBS single-season rushing record set in 1988.

«We had it in our mind that, 'Oh, he's going to try to break the record on us tonight,'» J-Thomas said, a huge grin across his face as he sat on a chair in a locker room buzzing with celebratory photos and cigars. «That's not going to happen.»

It didn't.

Even with defensive end Abdul Carter, who is ranked No. 2 in Mel Kiper's latest Big Board, sidelined by an undisclosed injury for most of the game, Penn State's defense stifled Jeanty, holding him to a season-low 104 rushing yards, his first time not rushing for at least 125 yards in a game this season. Jeanty finished 28 yards shy of breaking Sanders' record.

«I think we did corral him,» Penn State coach James Franklin said, correcting a reporter. «Not 'sort of.'»

Penn State, which won 13 games for the first time in school history, will face the winner of Notre Dame-Georgia in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl on Jan. 9. The Nittany Lions are two wins away from the school's first national championship since 1986.

Though Boise State's running game struggled, Penn State's