Penn State’s defense set the tone with a pair of pick-sixes against SMU and the offense eventually got things rolling in a one-sided affair in the first College Football Playoff game in Penn State and Beaver Stadium history. Penn State dominated SMU to advance to the quarterfinal round with a 38-10 victory on Saturday afternoon in chilly Happy Valley.
[autotag]Dominic DeLuca[/autotag] will be the answer to a new Penn State football trivia question. It was DeLuca who scored the first touchdown in Penn State playoff history when he jumped in front of a pass from SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings and returned it nearly uncontested for a 23-yard pick-six in the first quarter. With the Penn State offense still working on thawing out, linebacker [autotag]Tony Rojas[/autotag] gave Penn State a second defensive touchdown in the second quarter with 59-yard pick-six as Jennings was under pressure once again by the defensive front of Penn State.
The offense did eventually get things moving with the running game starting to pick up some steam. Touchdown runs by [autotag]Kaytron Allen[/autotag] and [autotag]Nicholas Singleton[/autotag] in the second quarter helped give Penn State a commanding 28-0 lead at halftime. The two running backs ended the day with three combined touchdowns (Allen had a second touchdown run in the fourth quarter to push the Penn State lead to 38-3).
[autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] was not particularly sharp but did complete 13 of 22 passes for 127 yards before getting an early rest in the fourth quarter with things comfortably in hand for the Nittany Lions. [autotag]Ethan Grunkemeyer[/autotag] finished the game under center for Penn State, taking advantage of the opportunity to get some live experience following the departure of Beau Pribula by way of the transfer portal earlier in the week.
It was a relatively quiet afternoon for Penn State’s star tight end Tyler Warren. Warren caught four passes for 33 yards and ran once for six yards. Warren also attempted a pass, but it fell incomplete. Expect Warren to have a bigger role in the next round.
Penn State will now head to the Fiesta Bowl for a quarterfinal round matchup with Boise State, champions of the Mountain West Conference. Penn State has never faced Boise State but has enjoyed some storied success in the Fiesta Bowl. Penn State faces Boise State on Jan. 31 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The winner of that game will face the winner of the quarterfinal-round matchup between Georgia and Notre Dame.
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