When Penn State steps on the field of Beaver Stadium for its first-round College Football Playoff game, it will line up against a program the Nittany Lions have not faced since 1978. The SMU Mustangs, the runners-up in the ACC this season, will make their way up to State College for the second time in the small series history between the two schools. It will be just the third all-time meeting between Penn State and SMU, and Penn State has yet to lose a game to the Mustangs.
Penn State is 1-0-1 all-time against SMU. The Nittany Lions won the only meeting played on a home campus when No. 3 Penn State handed SMU its first loss of the season in a 26-21 victory in front of 77,404 fans in Beaver Stadium. Penn State went on to complete an 11-0 regular season and played Alabama in the Sugar Bowl for the national championship, only to come up short in a 14-7 defensive battle.
The only other meeting in the series occurred in the 1948 Cotton Bowl, the 12th Cotton Bowl Classic at the time. This one holds some historical significance as it was the first bowl game to feature an interracial matchup. Penn State’s Wally Triplett and Dennis Hoggard played in the game for Penn State after team captain Steve Suhey rejected a request for a team vote to be held to determine if they would play or not. Triplett scored a game-tying touchdown and rushed for 75 yards as Penn State tied SMU, which featured legendary running back Doak Walker.
And now, almost 50 years after their last meeting, Penn State and SMU will cross paths again. Penn State will host SMU on Saturday, Dec. 21 at noon Eastern for a first-round College Football Playoff matchup. The winner of the game will advance to the Fiesta Bowl to face Mountain West Conference champion Boise State in the quarterfinal round.
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