GLENDALE, Ariz. — As the Penn State players made their way through the tunnel and into the bowels of State Farm Stadium after a historic 31-14 win against No. 3 seed Boise State on New Year’s Eve, 305-pound defensive tackle Dvon J-Thomas had a bounce in his step as he yelled, “Jeanty who?!” before disappearing into the locker room.

Penn State and Boise State had never played each other before Tuesday night’s College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the VRBO Fiesta Bowl, but the Nittany Lions were all too familiar with No. 2 — Heisman Trophy runner-up Ashton Jeanty, who entered the game 131 yards shy of tying Barry Sanders’ FBS single-season rushing record set in 1988.

“We had it in our mind that, ‘Oh, he’s going to try to break the record on us tonight,'” J-Thomas said, a huge grin across his face as he sat on a chair in a locker room buzzing with celebratory photos and cigars. “That’s not going to happen.”

It didn’t.

Even with defensive end Abdul Carter, who is ranked No. 2 in Mel Kiper’s latest Big Board, sidelined by an undisclosed injury for most of the game, Penn State’s defense stifled Jeanty, holding him to a season-low 104 rushing yards, his first time not rushing for at least 125 yards in a game this season. Jeanty finished 28 yards shy of breaking Sanders’ record.

“I think we did corral him,” Penn State coach James Franklin said, correcting a reporter. “Not ‘sort of.'”

Penn State, which won 13 games for the first time in school history, will face the winner of Notre Dame–Georgia in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl on Jan. 9. The Nittany Lions are two wins away from the school’s first national championship since 1986.

Though Boise State’s running game struggled, Penn State’s flourished with the dynamic duo of Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen. The two combined to rush for 221 yards, the most yards that Boise State has given up to running backs in a game this season. Franklin said it was the first time the program has had two 1,000-yard rushers in a single season since joining the Big Ten.

“Obviously, I’m biased, but I tell everybody we have the two best running backs in the country,” PSU running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider said. “You give them 300 carries a game and their stats will look different, too. I didn’t have to say anything all week. They knew what was at stake. I mean, the kid deserved the praise and credit he got, but I also knew what I had.”

Jeanty finished without a rushing touchdown in a game for only the second time this season; it also happened against Portland State on Sept. 21.

“I think defensively, I think our team was sick of me talking about him,” Franklin said. “I think we got the point across about the respect that we have for that young man and the type of running back he is. Even today, I think our defense would say they have a ton of respect for him and how many tackles he was able to break and how strong he is and the contact balance. He’s an impressive guy. But we’re pretty good on defense. Thought our D-line did a really good job of being disruptive and getting in the backfield. I thought we did a really good job gang tackling. There were a few times where we didn’t wrap like we should have. But for the most part, our defense played lights out.”

Carter left the game in the second quarter, an apparent upper-body injury as he was able to ride a stationary bike and roam the sideline for the rest of the game. During the final two-minute timeout, Carter stood alone on the field near the 45-yard line with a towel on his head, facing the crowd, pumping his fist and cheering along with them as they yelled “P-S-U! Let’s go PSU!”

It was the most Penn State fans got to see him on the field in the second half. Penn State doesn’t release injury information, and Franklin didn’t have much of an update afterward. Though the rest of his team was celebrating in the locker room after the game, Carter went to the trainer’s room.

“We’ll get that checked out and see,” Franklin said. “Obviously, No. 1, the safety and health and welfare of our guys is priority No. 1. But then, I know Abdul will want to play next week and he’ll do everything in his power to play next week, if he’s able to. We’ll find out more. I don’t have a whole lot more information than that.”

Without Carter, Penn State leaned on Amin Vanover, who added 6 tackles, 1 sack and 2 tackles for loss. Defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton added a sack and 2.5 TFLs. Defensive end Max Granville also helped on third-down situations. According to ESPN Research, Jeanty had 29 yards on nine rushes when Penn State had seven or more defenders in the box. He led the FBS with 1,507 such yards during the regular season.

“It was numbers in the box,” Franklin said. “Obviously, being able to play man coverage also helps with that, because you’re able to drop a safety down there and get an extra man to add numbers.”

This season, Jeanty had averaged 4.8 yards after contact per rush, and in the first quarter, Penn State limited him to an average of 1.1. The Broncos’ 48 rushing yards in the first half were their fewest in a half all season.

“They heard about No. 2 the entire time, so it was like a little edge they had to themselves to make sure that he didn’t take over the game at all,” defensive line coach Deion Barnes said. “They wanted to be known for taking over the game.”