What to know about Penn State, SMU. The Broncos will face one of them in Fiesta Bowl
Boise State football’s love affair with the Fiesta Bowl could gain a major new chapter as we usher out 2024.
The College Football Playoff committee released its final rankings on Sunday morning, setting the bracket for the 12-team playoffs in stone. The Broncos will play at 5:30 p.m. Mountain time on New Year’s Eve in the quarterfinals.
Boise State came in at No. 9 overall in the rankings, but because the Broncos were among the four highest-ranked conference champions, they earned a first-round bye, and even slotted in as the No. 3 seed by being higher in the CFP Top 25 than two Power 4 league winners: the Big 12’s Arizona State and the ACC’s Clemson.
That sets Boise State up for a fourth Fiesta Bowl appearance in program history. The Broncos are 3-0 in that game, most recently winning in 2014, when they defeated Arizona 37-30. The most famous victory came 43-42 over Oklahoma on Jan. 1, 2007, and there also was the Jan. 4, 2010, win over TCU by a 17-10 score.
Those wins both completed undefeated seasons, but this time around, Boise State actually will have a chance to compete for a national championship.
There’s another difference, too: When those past Fiesta Bowls were announced, the team immediately knew its opponent. Because of its bye, Boise State must wait to see who wins a first-round matchup between No. 6 Penn State and No. 11 SMU to learn its foe in the Dec. 31 game in Glendale, Arizona.
Boise State redshirt sophomore quarterback Maddux Madsen said he’d kind of prefer to play Penn State because of the school’s “rich tradition of football.” The Nittany Lions, who will host the game against SMU, opened as an 8.5-point favorite.
Here’s what to know about the two schools and what they bring to the table. The obvious attraction on paper, no matter who wins, will be a rushing game showdown: Boise State superstar Ashton Jeanty and a strong offensive line vs. a top-ranked run defense.
No. 6 Penn State
Penn State finished the season 11-2. The Nittany Lions played three ranked teams this season, beating then-No. 19 Illinois in late September, and losing to Ohio State in November and to No. 1 Oregon in the Big Ten championship game.
The Nittany Lions lost 45-37 to the undefeated Ducks on Saturday afternoon. Boise State also played Oregon in the regular season, losing 37-34 on a last-second field goal.
That means Penn State’s best win of the year came against Illinois, which finished No. 20 in the final CFP rankings. The Nittany Lions also had a come-from-behind 26-25 win over Minnesota, which finished 7-5 and tied for seventh place in the Big Ten. The Illini finished 9-3 and tied for fifth in the conference.
Despite this, Penn State was actually No. 4 in the final CFP rankings before slotting into the 6 seed in the bracket, one spot ahead of one-loss Notre Dame, which beat four Top 25 teams; two spots ahead of Ohio State, which had the head-to-head win over the Nittany Lions and also beat Indiana, another playoff team; and three spots ahead of Tennessee, which beat Alabama and two other teams when they were in the Top 25.
Penn State ranks 25th in the nation for scoring offense, averaging 33.6 points per game. That’s almost a touchdown behind Boise State, which averages 39.1 points per game to rank fourth in the nation.
The Nittany Lions’ quarterback is junior Drew Allar, who is in his second season as the starter. He’s thrown for 2,894 yards and 21 touchdowns in 2024, with seven interceptions. Allar’s favorite target is tight end Tyler Warren, who’s got 1,062 yards on 88 receptions — the next closest player is wide receiver Harrison Wallace III, who had 638 yards on just 39 catches.
The real danger for Penn State comes from its two-headed rushing attack. The Nittany Lions have two running backs — Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen — who have rushed for over 800 yards this season.
Of course, those totals pale in comparison to Boise State junior running back Ashton Jeanty, who has 2,497 yards to lead the nation. But Penn State has the nation’s No. 9 rushing defense, allowing just 103.6 rushing yards per game. And that defense held eight opponents to 13 or fewer points this season.
No. 11 SMU
SMU grabbed the final at-large playoff berth in somewhat of a surprise, after staging a second-half comeback before falling to three-loss Clemson 34-31 on a last-second field goal in the ACC championship game Saturday night.
The Mustangs finished the year 11-2 and got in over the likes of fellow ACC member Miami (10-2) and perennial playoff team Alabama, which went 9-3 but had higher-quality wins on its resume — as well as much worse losses. The Mustangs were unbeaten in ACC play in the regular season, but they did not face Miami, Clemson or Syracuse — the other top teams in the standings.
SMU’s only other loss was also by three points, 18-15 to BYU (10-2) in early September. The Mustangs’ best wins would be hammering then-unbeaten Pittsburgh (7-5) by a 48-25 score, and a 34-27 victory over then-No. 22 Louisville (8-4). They also beat a 9-3 Duke squad, but they don’t boast a win over a single team in the final CFP rankings.
The Mustangs are led by redshirt sophomore quarterback Kevin Jennings. He surpassed the 3,000-yard mark on the season with his efforts Saturday night against Clemson (304 yards, three TDs) and has thrown 22 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Jennings is also shifty on his feet, rushing for 464 yards this season. The Broncos are used to that and have done well against some dual-threat quarterbacks, holding Washington State’s John Mateer to 28 rushing yards and keeping UNLV’s Hajj-Malik Williams in check in the Mountain West title game, until Williams had a big scramble late in the game to reach 56 rushing yards.
The Mustangs are even better than Penn State at stopping the run. They rank fourth in the nation in rushing defense, holding opponents to 93.4 yards per game. But their passing defense is nothing to write home about, yielding 232.7 yards per game to rank 92nd in the nation.
This story was originally published December 8, 2024 at 4:26 PM.
