The Penn State Nittany Lions have done something that no one has been able to do all season to Ashton Jeanty: Bottle him and shut him down.
Through the first half, Jeanty has 13 carries for just 39 yards and, even worse, he has also fumbled.
As a result of Jeanty's ineffectiveness, Boise State has been unable to get anything going offensively. Still, the defense has kept them in the game. Penn State leads 17-7 at halftime. The Nittany Lions have a total of 221 yards of offense, but a turnover also kept Penn State from more points.
Jeanty was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, but ultimately ended up losing the award to Travis Hunter. Coming into the game, Jeanty was just 131 yards away from breaking Barry Sanders' record, but he'll need a miracle now to break the record.
At this point, he still has a little bit of work to do to surpass Kevin Smith (UCF) and Melvin Gordon (Wisconsin) before getting to Sanders' record.
Still, with another half to go, anything can happen. To this point, though, Penn State's defense has controlled the lines of scrimmage and have been able to get into the backfield and creat pressure.
The winner of Penn State vs. Boise State will move onto the semifinals of the College Football Playoff. The Broncos, who are the three-seed in the playoff, have had success in Fiesta Bowls in the past. The program has had a great season, but they will need a better effort from the defense in the second half to have a chance at keeping their season alive.