After Penn State easily dispatched SMU in the first round of the College Football Playoff, the Nittany Lions face off against Boise State on New Year’s Eve in the first quarterfinal matchup before the triple header on New Year’s Day.
Penn State has a recent reputation as a team that can’t win the big games although that really only applies to teams ranked ahead of them. While this is the case again, the Broncos don’t quite have the pedigree of an Ohio State or an Oregon. Regardless, the pressure is high on head coach James Franklin to get his team to the next round of the CFB Playoff.
The Boise State Broncos make their first-ever appearance in the College Football Playoff after spending many years as college football’s most lovable Cinderella story. This one will likely come down to the Penn State defense against the Boise State offense.
College Football Playoff Quarterfinal – Boise State vs. Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl
Boise State Broncos
The Broncos are led unquestionably by Heisman Trophy finalist Ashton Jeanty who rushed for 2,497 yards and 29 touchdowns on the season. He looked to be the front-runner for the award but was overtaken late by eventual winner Travis Hunter.
Quarterback Maddux Madsen was highly efficient throwing for over 2,700 yards with 22 touchdowns and only three interceptions. He will need to continue to protect the football against a very stingy Penn State defense.
With Jeanty being the focal point of the offense, none of the receivers put up big numbers. They were led by Cam Camper who led the team in receptions and receiving yards while TE Matt Lauter topped the group with six touchdown catches.
The defensive side of the ball was not a strong suit for the team this season as they gave up almost 22 points per game and gave up 30 points three times. This was also against arguably a weak schedule outside of the early season matchup against Oregon.
Defensive end Ahmed Hassanein and safety Seyi Oladipo put up 8.5 and 6.5 sacks respectively. The team was led in sacks by Jayden Virgin-Morgan who had 10.5. However the secondary only managed seven interceptions for the season. Fortunately for the Broncos, they are playing a team in the playoff with a good but not great quarterback who leans heavily on the running game.
Penn State Nittany Lions
While quarterback Drew Allar put up pretty good numbers with just over 3,000 passing yards with 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions he also was not the focal point of the offense. The Lions were led by one of the better two-headed running backs in the country with Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen who combined for over 1,800 yards on the ground and each scored eight touchdowns.
When Penn State did have to rely on the pass, Allan’s main target was TE Tyler Warren who had more than twice as many receptions as anyone else and had just under 1,100 receiving yards and six touchdowns. Warren is a sure-fire future first-round NFL draft pick. The rest of the receiving corps is decent but they simply didn’t get enough opportunities to showcase their skills.
Defense is what makes this Penn State team one of the best in the country and will make them a tough out in the College Football Playoff.
The defense gave under 16 points per game this season and held six of their opponents to ten points or less.
Defensive end Abdul Carter is the biggest star on the defensive unit as he put up 11.5 sacks. A big number indeed. The secondary is very solid with three players having at least three interceptions.
The Matchup
If Boise State quarterback Madsen is put in the position of having to win the game for the Broncos they are in big trouble. While he certainly is capable, he is not a game-changer.
It’s unlikely that the Penn State defense will be able to shut down Jeanty but they don’t have to. The goal for the Lions’ defense is to prevent him from running wild as he’s done so many times this year.
Unfortunately for Boise State, it will be difficult for them to shut down the Penn State offense. Either Singleton or Warren is likely to have a big game if not both of them. If Allar needs to throw he has the perfect safety net in Warren. Penn State’s best bet is to get ahead early which will lessen the impact that Jeanty has on the game.
Penn State was able to shut down the high-flying SMU offense albeit in cold weather and a boisterous home crowd. This playoff game is on a neutral field in much warmer weather.
We still expect Penn State to do enough to keep Jeanty from winning the game by himself which he might have to do for the Broncos to advance in the College Football Playoff. Penn State shouldn’t have much difficulty moving the ball against the Boise State defense.
Prediction
Penn State 34 Boise State 20
Assuming the Nittany Lions move on, they will face the winner of the New Year’s Day nightcap between Notre Dame and Georgia in what will probably be the most physical game of the College Football Playoff quarterfinals. Can Franklin finally get the big game monkey off his back? We will soon have our answer.
Main Image: Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images
