Penn State improves to 8-0 at Fiesta Bowl, eliminates Boise State from College Football Playoff

GLENDALE — “Penn State loves the Fiesta Bowl,” head coach James Franklin said after his Nittany Lions knocked off Boise State 31-14 at State Farm Stadium on Tuesday.

The Nittany Lions improved to 8-0 at the Fiesta Bowl all-time, the event’s best record by any program. Penn State (13-2) eliminated Boise State from the College Football Playoff after the Broncos received the No. 3 seed and first-round bye for winning the Mountain West.

The Nittany Lions are 7-0 in the Fiesta Bowl 💪🦁

Will @PennStateFball remain undefeated when they meet Boise State this year in Arizona? 👀 pic.twitter.com/F1X4iVouMQ

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) December 26, 2024

Penn State tight end Tyler Warren caught two touchdowns from quarterback Drew Allar, who finished with three on the night. The team ran for 216 yards to double up Boise State (12-2) on the ground, even with star running back Ashton Jeanty on the other side.

The Broncos had a chance to cut their deficit to one possession in the fourth quarter down 24-14, but after Boise State kicker Jonah Dalmas missed his second field goal attempt of the night, Penn State broke it open. Running back Nicholas Singleton broke off a 58-yard touchdown runs on the ensuing series to end any hope of a Broncos upset. The heavy orange presence in the stands at State Farm Stadium began to dissipate.

Ashton Jeanty comes up short of Barry Sanders

Penn State also successfully the held Doak Walker Award winner and Heisman Trophy finalist Jeanty in check, especially early. Jeanty entered the game needing 132 rushing yards to break Barry Sanders’ single-season record, but he finished the game with 104 yards on the ground and only 3.5 per carry. He also fumbled the ball twice, resulting in one turnover.

His longest carry was 26 yards.

“In terms of the record and 130 yards, that was a big motivation,” Penn State safety Zakee Wheatley, who had an interception, said. “We knew what we were going against today. … Did what we had to do.”

Jeanty crossed the 100-yard mark in every game this season and finished with 2,601 rushing yards, the second-most of all-time. 

“Throughout the course of the game, you expect to wear the defense down and the big plays will come,” Jeanty said after concluding his legendary season. “It’s an expectation every game to make big plays.”

Four turnovers and two missed field goals were impossible to overcome for the underdogs that showed up to the Valley wearing “Please count us out” shirts.

Penn State dominant early

The Fiesta Bowl looked like a mismatch early, a game that would further fuel the skepticism surrounding Boise State’s ranking and the CFP’s format that rewarded a Group of 5 champion ahead of Power 4 runners up and winners, such as Arizona State.

Penn State marched down the field on nine plays on its first possession after a Boise State missed field goal, resulting in a touchdown to Warren. After a Boise State three-and-out, Allar hit wide receiver Omari Evans on a 38-yard bomb to the end zone.

To make matters worse, Jeanty lost the ball on a fumble to stymie Boise State’s next series, but the momentum toward a potential boatrace halted after a Penn State turnover.

En route to taking a three-possession lead before the end of the first quarter, Allar fumbled while pulling the ball back on a read option. The first half got a lot messier for the Nittany Lions from then on with five penalties and a couple sacks, but a last-second field goal gave them a 17-7 lead at halftime.

Boise State refused to go away, and head coach Spencer Danielson credited his team’s resilience all season. Boise State won 12 games for the first time since 2019, and Danielson pushed back on the notion his team did not deserve the position it was placed in.

“We were 12-1, back-to-back Mountain West champs,” he said. “You go into a game, a lot of people counted us out, and we’re a couple of plays away from winning. That’s football, though. We could lose to anybody in the country, but I also believe we could beat anybody in the country.

“With the expansion of College Football Playoff, all you want is to give teams a chance. Everybody knew how to make the playoffs to start the season. There was no gray area. … You got to go out and win.”

Boise State also entered Tuesday perfect at the Fiesta Bowl (3-0) with classic wins such as the 2007 upset over Oklahoma.

Penn State won the program’s first CFP game and is two wins away from its first national championship of the 21st century.

“We talked in the beginning of the season about our guys having these types of moments and these types of experiences and these types of opportunities,” Franklin said. “Love the fact that these guys were able to find a win against a really good opponent here.”

The Nittany Lions will face the winner of Wednesday’s Sugar Bowl between Notre Dame and Georgia at the Orange Bowl on Jan. 9.

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