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Fiesta Bowl preview: How Boise State’s offense matches up with Penn State’s defense

Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Abdul Carter leads talented Penn State front 

Bob Lundeberg

Boise State Broncos running back Ashton Jeanty.
Boise State Broncos running back Ashton Jeanty. / Brian Losness-Imagn Images

From front to back, Penn State’s defense is as complete as any unit in the country. 

The sixth-seeded Nittany Lions surrender just 280 yards per game, trailing only fellow College Football Playoff participants Ohio State (242.2), Indiana (256.3) and Texas (261.4) in FBS. Penn State ranks sixth nationally in scoring defense (15.9 points allowed), seventh in rushing defense (100.4 yards) and 17th in passing defense (179.6 yards). 

No. 3 Boise State (12-1), the country’s third-best scoring offense at 39.1 points per game, is excited to test its potent attack against a loaded Nittany Lions (12-2) defense in Tuesday’s Fiesta Bowl. The ESPN telecast for the CFP quarterfinal is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. Mountain time. 

“It was on full display what they did last weekend against SMU,” Broncos head coach Spencer Danielson said of Penn State’s defense. The Nittany Lions smothered SMU in a 38-10 first-round CFP victory. 

“They are one of the best fronts we’ve seen all season.”

It all starts with edge rusher Abdul Carter, who has 63 total tackles, 11 sacks and two forced fumbles as a junior. A three-time All-Big Ten selection, Carter was voted 2024 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. 

“Going back through our season this year, I don’t think we’ve seen a defensive player like him,” Danielson said of the 6-foot-3, 252-pound game-wrecker. “I’m very, very impressed with his game. … He has one of the most elite get-offs I’ve seen in a long time as an edge player. He is a nightmare to deal with.”

Danielson also singled out junior defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton, junior linebacker Kobe King and senior safety Jaylen Reed for their aggressiveness on film. 

“As a whole collective unit, they are all great and they all make each other look really good,” Boise State junior running back Ashton Jeanty said. “And not just on the defensive line, but the whole front seven. You’ve got (King), he’s a pretty big guy. Abdul Carter … he’s a great player. They are all working together as a great front seven, and we’re going to have our work cut out for us.”

Just like they did in a 37-34 Week 2 loss at Oregon, the Broncos will attempt to match Penn State’s physicality at the point of attack.

Jeanty, the Heisman Trophy runner-up, leads the country in carries (344), rushing yards (2,497) and rushing touchdowns (29). Jeanty needs 132 yards in the College Football Playoff to break Barry Sanders’ FBS single-season rushing record. 

The Broncos rank fifth nationally in rushing yards per game at 250.5 and boast a strong offensive line with center Mason Randolph, guards Roger Carreon and Ben Dooley and tackles Kage Casey and Hall Schmidt. Carreon and Randolph missed most of the season due to injury but are back in the lineup. 

Boise State will also need a clean game from sophomore quarterback Maddux Madsen, who has thrown for 2,714 yards and 22 touchdowns with three interceptions this season. Madsen spreads the ball around to senior wide receiver Cameron Camper (55 catches, 837 yards, four touchdowns), junior tight end Matt Lauter (43 catches, 525 yards, six touchdowns) and others. 

“What I respect Penn State for so much is they are always on the same page,” Danielson said. “They are very well-coached. They’ve got good answers for whatever schemes you are going to give them. They align very well.

“They’ve got a phenomenal front that can impose their will on an offensive line. But once you create situations for their DBs and linebackers to tackle, they show up an make big tackles as well.”

Jeanty expects to see plenty of single-high safety looks with seven or eight Nittany Lions near the line of scrimmage. 

“And that’s just natural from all the defenses we’ve seen,” he said. “We’re going to have to play a great game, stay ahead of the chains.”

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Bob Lundeberg
BOB LUNDEBERG

Bob Lundeberg is a reporter for Boise State Broncos On SI. An Oregon State graduate, Bob has lived in Idaho since 2019 and is an avid hiker and golfer.

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