For 10 years, Jay Ajayi's 2014 season has sat at the top of Boise State's record books, but with the way Ashton Jeanty is playing, Ajayi's records are in danger of being supplanted.
 
To be fair, Barry Sanders' hallowed NCAA single-season rushing records during his 1988 Heisman Trophy season are also in jeopardy, so Ajayi is in good company.
 
Through seven games this season, following Boise State's massive Mountain West Conference win at UNLV, Jeanty has rushed for 1,376 yards and 18 touchdowns to put him on pace to break Ajayi's school record of 1,823 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns respectively, and also Sanders' all-time NCAA marks of 2,628 yards and 37 touchdowns.
 
"You can't miss it, he's going viral," Ajayi said of Jeanty, who both starred at high schools in Frisco, Texas, prior to their time in Boise. "It's part of the sport, respectfully. At the end of the day, I know when I played, I was able to create a legacy for myself and I'm embedded in the blueprint at Boise State, so I can take pride in that. As a competitor, I want to be able to keep those records, but if it could be anyone (to break them), I'm so excited for Ashton."
 
Ajayi's junior season in 2014 is one to remember. Before declaring for the 2015 NFL Draft, Ajayi's All-American season concluded in the 44th annual Fiesta Bowl, where Boise State defeated Arizona, 38-30.


 
The Broncos, ranked 20th, jumped on the No. 10 Wildcats by putting up three touchdowns on their first three drives. Ajayi, on his first carry of the game and Boise State's fourth play from scrimmage, burst through the middle untouched for a 56-yard touchdown.
 
"I always pride myself as being a tone setter," Ajayi said. "For the Fiesta Bowl, I was locked in from the beginning of the game. On that first touch, I was ready to go and made sure that I started the game off with a touchdown."
 
After Grant Hedrick capped the Broncos' second drive with a 57-yard touchdown pass to Chaz Anderson, Ajayi punctuated Boise State's game-opening 21-0 lead with a 16-yard score reminiscent of a play that lives in Boise State and Fiesta Bowl lore.
 
Taking a page out of the 2006-07 Boise State team's Fiesta Bowl playbook, Ajayi took the handoff from Hedrick on the Statue of Liberty play and raced up the left sideline, breaking a tackle and stiff-arming an Arizona defender on his way to his second touchdown of the game.
 
"The Statue of Liberty is one of those plays for Boise State, when you call it, whoever the tailback is feels like no matter what, it is their obligation is to score a touchdown," said Bryan Harsin, Boise State's head coach from 2014-20 and offensive coordinator in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. "We knew the Statue would show up. We were going to call it regardless, but that was the right moment."
 
Following an Arizona touchdown, Ajayi tacked on his third touchdown run from one yard out. Ajayi racked up 107 of his 134 rushing yards before halftime and finished the game one rushing touchdown shy of the Fiesta Bowl record.
 
Ajayi's third score extended Boise State's lead to 28-7, but Arizona refused to go away. The Wildcats pulled within 38-30 with six minutes remaining in the game. Starting their final drive at their own 20-yard line with 2:53 left, a 43-yard pass play gave them a first-and-goal at the Boise State 8-yard line. However, Anu Solomon was sacked by Kamalei Correa on the game's final play as time expired, sealing the Broncos' third Fiesta Bowl win in nine seasons.
 
"Arizona was moving the ball down the field and we knew they were explosive on offense," Harsin said. "But I felt in that moment (on the final play), our guys were steadier than Arizona was. We were able to win that moment to ultimately win the game. Everybody knew that our defense would find a way to get a stop."
 
Ajayi's 134 yards rushing in the Fiesta Bowl lifted him past Ian Johnson, the tailback on the original, unforgettable Statue of Liberty conversion against Oklahoma in 2007, on Boise State's single-season rushing yards list. Ajayi also set the Broncos' record for touchdowns and 100-yard rushing games (10) in a season with his Fiesta Bowl performance.
 
As a result of his 2014 season, Ajayi firmly placed himself among Boise State's best all time, as he ranks first in yards per game (115.4), tied for second in rushing touchdowns (50), fourth in career yards rushing (3,796) and seventh in yards per carry (5.60).
 
To be in the conversation of the best running backs to call Boise State's Blue Turf home is a feat itself, considering the lineage of Broncos tailbacks, especially over the last 25 years.
 
At the turn of the century, Brock Forsey – the program's third all-time leading rusher – started an impressive run of Boise State runners. In 2006, Johnson kicked off an impressive three-year stretch as Boise State's lead back, surpassing Forsey for second all-time in career rushing yards by the end of his career.
 
Then from 2012-19, Boise State produced four NFL Draft picks at the position beginning with Doug Martin – the lead back on the Broncos' 2010 Fiesta Bowl winning team – to Ajayi, Jeremy McNichols and Alexander Mattison, with the latter two still active in the National Football League.
 
"The mentality of the Boise State football program goes back to being a blue collar, physical team," said Harsin, whose personal ties with the program run deep as a former Boise State quarterback, assistant coach and offensive coordinator prior to being named head coach.
 
"I've always felt that since I was a player all the way through coaching. I think there's a belief that if I go to Boise State as a tailback, I'm going to be featured. I want to leave my legacy and be the guy that does special things on that blue field like the other great running backs before me."
 
There is little doubt that Jeanty will be the next Broncos great to go from Boise to the NFL. The only question is how many records will Jeanty depart with and can the Broncos return to a New Year's Six bowl for the first time since Ajayi and the 2014 team?
 
"Ashton, he's from my city in Texas and I know him quite well. I'm rooting him on. He's doing things that even I wasn't doing," Ajayi said. "I'm a fan and I'm here to help him as well. Besides football, he's just a real great person. He's bringing more exposure to the university and hopefully the team continues to win games in the process, as he continues to have a successful year."