The first game of our Saturday, December 21st College Football Playoff tripleheader features another recent upstart SMU heading to Happy Valley to play a highly ranked Penn State squad with plenty to prove in big games. After famously saying he would resign as head coach if his team didn’t make the playoff this year, James Franklin now has his team in. The obvious question is whether they can do any damage now that they’re here. As has been the case in recent years, the Nittany Lions lost their two biggest games of the season to Ohio State and Oregon.
For the Mustangs, they are also making their first appearance in the playoff although Penn State would have made it before had there been 12 teams. SMU lost only twice this season and both games were by three points. What they can’t do in a true road game is fall behind the way they did against Clemson in the ACC championship.
CFP Preview: SMU at Penn State
SMU
The high-flying Mustangs finish their inaugural season in the ACC as runner-ups after a close and dramatic loss to Clemson in the conference championship game. Their strength is on offense where they averaged over 38 points per game.
The offense is led by dual-threat quarterback Kevin Jennings who threw for over 3,000 yards despite not being installed as the full-time starter until the fourth game of the season. He also proved his versatility by rushing for over 300 yards and five rushing touchdowns.
Brashard Smith is the unquestioned top dog in the backfield with his 1,270 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns. Smith also proved capable as a receiving threat by catching four touchdown passes albeit with limited yardage receiving.
SMU is another team without a standout receiver although they did have a half dozen receivers catching at least three touchdowns. The corps are led by Roderick Daniels and Keyshawn Smith who each had over 500 receiving yards each. The next highest receiving yardage total was under 400 yards. While they don’t have a star at the position they do have depth.
On defense, the strength is the line most notably the two ends in Isiah Smith and Elijah Roberts who had 6.5 and 5.5 sacks respectively. The secondary also lacks stars but did have three players with at least three interceptions.
Penn State
When quarterback Drew Allar arrived in State College he was heralded as the next great Penn State quarterback. So far the results have been mixed. Essentially he’s been good but not great and has contributed to the Nittany Lions winning all the games they should but not the biggest ones.
The star on offense is running back Nicholas Singleton who has lived up to the hype he brought with him to town. This season Singleton has shared duties with Kaytron Allen and each of them has rushed for over 800 yards and a combined 13 scores on the ground. Aller has scored six times on the ground himself.
The Nittany Lions’ best receiver by far is future first-round NFL draft pick tight end Tyler Warren. Amazingly as a tight end, he has more than twice as many receptions as anyone else on the team, leads in receiving yards by a wide margin, and leads in touchdown catches. The rest of the receivers are average but do have guys that can occasionally make the big play.
The defense is the clear strength of this squad. Defense end Abdul Carter is the biggest stud here with ten sacks and two forced fumbles. The other starting defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton is second on the team in sacks but is well behind Carter with only four.
We usually don’t have to worry about linebacker play at Penn State and this year is no exception. No sure-fire first-round picks but solid all the way around. The secondary also lacks star power as the team leader in interceptions is safety Jaylen Reed with just three.
Prediction:
Expect the weather to be colder in State College than it was in Charlotte the last time the Mustangs suited up. They better make sure they’re ready at the onset. It’s unlikely that they can stop the Penn State running attack and the Nittany Lions defense always comes ready to play. SMU will be able to move the ball but won’t be able to stop the opposition.
Penn State 41 SMU 26
The Nittany Lions get another shot at a “big game “. Since their next opponent won’t be named Ohio State, Michigan, or Oregon can they pull it off in the next round and get to the semifinals after dispatching the Mustangs?
Main Image: Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images
