Win or lose, Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty could make history in the Fiesta Bowl.
The Heisman Trophy runner-up is on the doorstep of the FBS single-season rushing record, sitting 131 yards shy of Barry Sanders’ 1988 mark that has stood for 36 years. While 131 yards against Penn State’s defense is a tall task 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 will receive an asterisk, whether fair or not. Sanders played in an era that counted some stats differently, and the exclusion of Oklahoma State’s bowl game from his stats has some believing 2,628 shouldn’t be considered the true record.
Here’s a look at Sanders’ record-setting 1988 season and what he did in Oklahoma State’s bowl game.
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Barry Sanders rushing record
Sanders previewed a Hall of Fame NFL career when he ran for 2,628 yards and 37 touchdowns in 1988, smashing 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 remain a single-season record as well.
Sanders himself wished Jeanty luck in his pursuit of the rushing record on social media ahead of the Mountain West title game.
Hey @AshtonJeanty2 – Wishing you luck tonight.
My fans can gripe, but records are made to be broken & I am rooting for you. I love seeing all these @NFL and @NCAA #RBs showing the value of the position. #RunTheRock pic.twitter.com/bk0NtPbAL0— Barry Sanders (@BarrySanders) December 6, 2024
Sanders recorded multiple rushing touchdowns in each game in 1988, including three five-touchdown games. He ran for less than 200 yards in five of his first six games but increased the pace with three games of at least 300 yards the rest of the way.
Bowl games did not count toward anyone’s stats in 1988, however. That means Sanders’ Holiday Bowl performance didn’t count while Jeanty’s Fiesta Bowl stats will.
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 counted toward the record book. The 12th game was the Holiday Bowl, but his impressive performance didn’t count toward his season stats.
The NCAA began counting bowl games toward a player’s stats in 2002.
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Barry Sanders bowl game stats in 1988
Sanders rushed for 222 yards and five touchdowns against Wyoming in the 1988 Holiday Bowl. Oklahoma State won 62-14.
- Rush att.: 29
- Rush yards: 222
- TD: 5
- YPC: 7.7
With those totals, Sanders ultimately ran for 2,850 yards and 42 TDs in 1988. The Hall of Famer was a record-setter regardless, but his records would have an even greater chance of standing the test of time if they included an additional 222 yards and five touchdowns.
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Barry Sanders college stats
| Season | Games | Rush att. | 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 he didn’t threaten any career records because he didn’t start until his junior season at Oklahoma State. That wasn’t a failure on the Cowboys’ part — Sanders started behind fellow Pro Football Hall of Famer Thurman Thomas.
A running back room of Thomas and Sanders sounds like something out of a movie, but Stillwater lived it for two seasons before Sanders took the reins and put together the season of a lifetime.
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Barry Sanders is widely regarded as one of the greatest running backs in college football history, and his incredible 1988 season at Oklahoma State is a big reason why. However, there has been some confusion and controversy surrounding his rushing record from that season, particularly in regards to his performance in the Holiday Bowl.
In the 1988 Holiday Bowl, Sanders rushed for 222 yards and five touchdowns against Wyoming, putting on a show for fans and solidifying his status as a top NFL prospect. However, these stats were not officially counted towards his NCAA rushing total for the season.
The reason for this discrepancy lies in the NCAA’s rules at the time. In 1988, the NCAA did not include bowl game statistics in a player’s season total for rushing yards. This meant that despite his incredible performance in the Holiday Bowl, Sanders’ 222 yards and five touchdowns did not count towards his official season total of 2,628 rushing yards and 37 touchdowns.
While this may seem like a technicality, it has led to some confusion over the years about Sanders’ place in the record books. Some have argued that if his Holiday Bowl stats were included, he would have broken numerous additional records and solidified his place as the greatest rushing season in college football history.
Regardless of this technicality, there is no denying the incredible talent and dominance that Sanders displayed during the 1988 season. His record-breaking season is still considered one of the greatest individual performances in college football history, and his legacy as a running back is secure.
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Barry Sanders, rushing record, NCAA yards total, 1988 bowl game stats, Barry Sanders rushing record explanation, college football records, NCAA rushing yards, Barry Sanders statistics, college football history
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