The sixth In the College Football Playoff quarterfinals, Penn State defeated No. 3 Boise State 31–14 by controlling Ashton Jeanty and overcoming some dubious offensive play-calling.
The winner of Wednesday night’s Sugar Bowl between No. 2 Georgia and No. 7 Notre Dame will face the Nittany Lions in the playoff semifinals.
In order to win the Fiesta Bowl, Penn State needed to be the first team this season to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and shut down Jeanty, the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy.
The loss of All-America selection and outstanding defensive end Abdul Carter, who exited the game in the second quarter with what appeared to be an arm injury and never came back, severely hurt those efforts. The Penn State front line found it difficult to hold the Broncos’ edge rushers in check and open up a clean pocket for quarterback Drew Allar.
Reducing Jeanty’s influence, even without Carter applying pressure, focused attention on Boise State quarterback Maddux Madsen, who completed 23 of 35 passes for 304 yards, a score, and three interceptions.
The Nittany Lions managed to restrict the junior All-America selection, but they were unable to keep Jeanty totally under wraps. Jeanty ended with a long of 26 yards and 104 yards on 30 carries.
He was just 132 yards away from shattering Barry Sanders’ single-season rushing record, having scored at least 125 yards in each of the regular season’s games. The first FBS team to prevent Jeanty from entering the end zone was the Nittany Lions.
Despite spending too much time neglecting the ground assault and keeping the ball in Allar’s hands, Penn State’s running game managed to gain 216 yards on 41 runs, paced by Kaytron Allen’s game-high 134 yards.
Despite spending too much time neglecting the ground assault and keeping the ball in Allar’s hands, Penn State’s running game managed to gain 216 yards on 41 runs, paced by Kaytron Allen’s game-high 134 yards.
Allar completed 13 of 25 passes for 171 yards and three touchdowns while under pressure from the Broncos’ potent pass rush. Allar coughed up a fumble that the Broncos recovered, but he did not intercept anything. Despite being the main target of Boise State’s back seven, Tyler Warren, the outstanding tight end, had 63 receiving yards and two touchdowns, so the Nittany Lions relied on him.
PSU was hindered by a number of odd choices on crucial downs in addition to the startling choice to avoid an efficient running game.
The result adds to PSU’s 38-10 victory over SMU in the first round. These two victories reinforce the Big Ten’s argument as the best FBS conference, along with a number of outstanding performances versus Power Four leagues in conventional bowl games.
Before the Broncos rallied with a touchdown run with less than nine minutes remaining in the second quarter, PSU had a 14-0 lead and appeared ready to put the Mountain West champs in an unbeatable deficit. As the quarter came to a close, the Nittany Lions led 17–7 thanks to a 40-yard field goal.
The third quarter began with a defensive stop by Boise, and then the Nittany Lions’ costly defensive breakdown allowed tight end Matt Lauter to sneak down the left sideline and catch a 47-yard touchdown pass.
With almost nine minutes remaining, the Nittany Lions took control. Allar completed a crucial third down, and running back Nick Singleton produced the game-winning 58-yard touchdown with five minutes remaining.
Warren scored a 13-yard touchdown to put Penn State ahead 24–14 and regain control after an 11-play, 75-yard drive. The following two drives by Boise State in the third and fourth quarters lasted 12 and 13 plays, respectively, but were stopped and a field goal from 38 yards out was missed.
