Win or lose, Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty could make history in the Fiesta Bowl.

The Heisman Trophy runner-up is close to setting the FBS single-season rushing record, 131 yards shy of Barry Sanders’ 1988 record, which has stood for 36 years. While 131 yards against Penn State’s defense is a tall order for anyone, it might just be another day at the office for Jeanty, who ran for more than 125 yards in every game he played this season.

Anyone who breaks Sanders’ record gets an asterisk, whether fair or not. Sanders played in an era where some statistics were counted differently, and the exclusion of Oklahoma State’s bowl game from his statistics leads some to believe that 2,628 should not be considered the true record.

Here’s a look at Sanders’ record-breaking 1988 season and what he did in Oklahoma State’s bowl game.

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Barry Sanders storms record

Sanders gave a taste of a Hall of Fame NFL career when he rushed for 2,628 yards and 37 touchdowns in 1988, breaking the record previously held by Marcus Allen.

Sanders averaged 7.6 yards per carry and easily won the Heisman Trophy, receiving 559 first-place votes to Rodney Peete’s 70. Sanders’ 37 rushing touchdowns also remain a season record.

Sanders himself wished Jeanty good luck in pursuit of the rushing record on social media before the Mountain West title game.

Hey @AshtonJeanty2 – I wish you good luck tonight.
My fans can complain, but records are meant to be broken and I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you. I love seeing all of this @NFL And @NCAA #RBs Displays the value of the position. #RunTheRock pic.twitter.com/bk0NtPbAL0

– Barry Sanders (@BarrySanders) December 6, 2024

Sanders recorded multiple rushing touchdowns in every game in 1988, including three five-touchdown games. He ran for less than 200 yards in five of his first six games, but then picked up the pace in three games with at least 300 yards.

However, bowl games did not count towards anyone’s statistics in 1988. This means that Sanders’ performance in the Holiday Bowl didn’t count, but Jeanty’s stats in the Fiesta Bowl did.

Here are the details on Sanders’ bowl stats and the differences between his season and Jeanty’s.

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How many games did Barry Sanders play in 1988?

Sanders played in 12 games in 1988, but only 11 of them made the record book. The 12th game was the Holiday Bowl, but his impressive performance did not count towards his season statistics.

The NCAA began counting bowl games toward a player’s statistics in 2002.

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Barry Sanders bowl game statistics in 1988

Sanders rushed for 222 yards and five touchdowns in the 1988 Holiday Bowl against Wyoming. Oklahoma State won 62-14.

• Eilatt.: 29
• Rush Yards: 222
• TD: 5
• YPC: 7.7

With these totals, Sanders eventually passed for 2,850 yards and 42 touchdowns in 1988. The Hall of Famer was definitely a record holder, but his records would have an even better chance of standing the test of time if they included an additional 222 yards and 42 touchdowns, plus five touchdowns.

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Barry Sanders college stats

season	games	Rush.	Rush yards	Yards per carry	TD
1986	8	74	325	4.4	2
1987	11	105	603	5.7	9
1988	11	344	2,628	7.6	37
career	30	523	3,556	6.8	48

Sanders holds the single-season rushing record, but did not threaten any career records as he did not start until his junior season at Oklahoma State. This wasn’t a failure for the Cowboys – Sanders started behind fellow Pro Football Hall of Famer Thurman Thomas.

A running back room with Thomas and Sanders sounds like something out of a movie, but Stillwater lived through it for two seasons before Sanders took the reins and put together the season of his life.

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