NFL
By: Mark T. Wilson
The College Football world is sitting on its hands waiting for Boise State’s RB Ashton Jeanty to break the single-season rushing record of Barry Sanders while he was at Oklahoma State in 1988. However, there should be an asterisk next to it if he does do it.
This is not an attempt to knock Jeanty’s accomplishments but to preserve a record that should not be knocked from the books. In 1988, Sanders ran for 2628 yards in 11 regular-season games. However, his rushing yards from his Bowl Game that season were not factored into his final stats.
Now, we have Jeanty who still believes that he’s set to break the record and focused on something that he missed out on. Times have changed and more games are being played in a season. The same argument could be made regarding stats in the NFL where 16 games were the norm, now it’s 17, and a possibility of 18 soon. Should the 16-game records stand alone? That’s a fair question.
Jeanty is just 131 yards short of the record, but the truth is, he’s already missed the chance. If Sanders’ record is based on his regular season, then why are we giving Jeanty an extra few games to break it when Sanders’ record should be secured in a vault? Jeanty has already played 13 games this season and still hasn’t broken the record that Barry set in 11 games. Even before the new playoff format, Jeanty was short. If we add in the 288 yards Sanders gained in the Holiday Bowl that season, that will take his season total to 2856 yards.
In that case, Jeanty would have to rush for another 359 yards. Can it be done? Yes, but it would take him and his BSU team to get past their first game. Records are made to be broken has been the motto for sports fans throughout history but this is one record that should still stand. If anything after the regular season is good for Jeanty, then why is it not good for Sanders?
Ashton Jeanty is a special back without a doubt. However, just adding more time and doing so without giving Sanders his proper due is a bit disrespectful. As stated earlier, this is not a hate piece. This was done to shed light on something that’s not being mentioned. The single-season rushing record is not what the records books state. If we’re using bowl games and now playoffs to reach such goals, then why aren’t the total from 1988 stats for Barry Sanders being used? He’s being short-changed.
