All Penn State

Penn State Routs SMU, Earns Fiesta Bowl Date With Boise State

The Nittany Lions' relentless defense turned two pick-6s vs. the Mustangs into their first College Football Playoff victory.

Mark Wogenrich

Penn State Nittany Lions linebacker Dom DeLuca (0) scores on an interception for touchdown during the first half against SMU at Beaver Stadium.
Penn State Nittany Lions linebacker Dom DeLuca (0) scores on an interception for touchdown during the first half against SMU at Beaver Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
In this story:

STATE COLLEGE | Penn State linebacker Dom DeLuca intercepted two first-half passes, returning one for a touchdown, to kickstart the Nittany Lions' 38-10 win over SMU on Saturday in the first round of the College Football Playoff. With its first playoff win in school history, Penn State advanced to the quarterfinals, where it will face Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl.

Penn State (12-2) has won 12 games for the first time since its last undefeated season in 1994 and introduced Beaver Stadium to playoff football with a lively day of defense. Next up: the Nittany Lions take on Ashton Jeanty, the Heisman Trophy runnerup, and the Boise State Broncos in the College Football Playoff quarterfials on New Year's Eve.

Perhaps the most suprising element of Penn State's dominant win, which also was James Franklin's 100th as Penn State's head coach: The team got freshman quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer into the game with nearly 11 minutes left in the first quarter. Alas, Grunkemeyer's first college pass was tipped for an interception. Still, good experience. The breakdown from Beaver Stadium.

Big-play DeLuca

Penn State linebacker Dom DeLuca has been a bright-lights player since high school, when he threw two touchdown passes in Wyoming Area's first state-championship victory. DeLuca made a huge interception at Minnesota in November and lit up the scoreboard Saturday.

DeLuca scored Penn State's first playoff points on a 23-yard interception return in the first quarter. DeLuca intercepted two Kevin Jennings passes in the first half and contributed to a sack. The former walk-on's second interception, which he tipped to himself, ended a juicy SMU red-zone opportunity, one Penn State gifted to SMU by not converting a 4th-and-1 sneak from its own 19-yard line.

It wasn't DeLuca's first two-interception game at Penn State: He also picked off two passes in the 2021 Blue-White spring game.

Penn State's defense unravels a quarterback

"If we execute the way we're supposed to execute and play our game," SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings said before the game, "there's no way they can stop us."

Trouble is, SMU didn't execute that way. The Mustangs entered the game having scored at least 28 points in 10 consecutive games. This game pivoted the wrong way on its first offensive series. The Mustangs jarred Penn State with their tempo defense, driving into the red zone, where they went for a fourth down. Jennings had first-down daylight quarterback but kept his eyes up and threw toward tight end Matthew Hibner at the goal line. The decision wasn't wrong, but Jennings' pass was behind Hibner, who juggled the ball long enough for safety Zakee Wheatley to make the hit and end the play.

Jennings had an opportunity to get into Penn State's collective defensive head. After that, the Nittany Lions got into his head. Jennings threw three first-half interceptions, with linebacker Tony Rojas taking his pick 59 yards for a score. Penn State returned two interceptions for touchdowns in a game for the first time since 1998 vs. Michigan State.

After that, the pressure was relentless. Dani Dennis-Sutton was all over Jennings. Tackle Coziah Izzard generated rush from the middle. Penn State chased Jennings from the pocket with blitzes from Rojas and its cornerbacks. Jennings threw too many passes from 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage. And Abdul Carter punctuated the domination with an 18-yard sack in the third quarter, pushing a drive that began with 1st-and-goal from the 2-yard line back to the 25. SMU missed the ensuing field goal.

Penn State dominates the red zone

The Nittany Lions were relentless defensively but constricted SMU even more in the red zone. The Mustangs reached the red zone four times through three quarters, ending three of those possessions with the incompletion at the goal line, DeLuca's interception and a missed field goal. In two red-zone possessions of the third quarter, SMU produced as many false starts (three) as points.
Carter's 18-yard sack in the third quarter, through which he was held, was the defining red-zone play.

The Nittany Lions' solidfy the win on the ground

Quarterback Drew Allar had a rough day throwing the ball, particularly in the first half. He wasn't seeing the field, missed some receivers under pressure and finished the half 12-for-21. He also got stuffed on a 4th-and-1 sneak attempt that Penn State coach James Franklin strangely called from the 19-yard line (DeLuca saved the call with an interception).

But Allar didn't turn over the ball and kept grinding, hitting Trey Wallace on 3rd-and-10 for 25 yards, his biggest play of the first half. That kickstarted Penn State's offense for his biggest play of the half, a 25-yard completion on 3rd-and-10, that kickstarted the drive. Running back Kaytron Allen capped the drive with a 25-yard touchdown, giving the Nittany Lions a 21-0 lead. After that, the run game took over.

Penn State put together a nine-play, 75-yard drive that spanned the third and fourth quarters and consisted entirely of run plays. Allen scored his second toucdown, giving the Nittany Lions a 38-3 lead.

Penn State running back Kaytron Allen scores a touchdown vs. SMU in the College Football Playoff.
Penn State Nittany Lions running back Kaytron Allen (13) runs the ball into the end zone for a touchdown during the second quarter against the Southern Methodist Mustangs in the first round of the College Football Playoff at Beaver Stadium. / Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

At least there was sun

SMU's band drew some online empathy for its seat location at Beaver Stadium. The Mustangs band got the upper-deck North end-zone seats usually reserved for opposing teams.

Fiesta Bowl preview

Penn State will meet Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl, which will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on New Year's Eve from State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Boise State earned the No. 4 seed in the College Football Playoff after finishing 12-1 and winning the Mountain West Conference title.

Penn State will begin studying running back Ashton Jeanty, who leads the nation with 2,497 yards rushing and is tied with 29 rushing touchdowns. The back averaged 192 yards per game, 7.26 per carry, and topped 200 yards six times. And Boise State's offense rolls almost entirely through Jeanty. The Broncos ranked 10th in the Mountain West in passing, with quarterback Maddux Madsen entering the game with a 62-percent completion rate.

Published
Mark Wogenrich
MARK WOGENRICH

Mark Wogenrich is Editor and Publisher of AllPennState, the site for Penn State news on SI's FanNation Network. He has covered Penn State sports for more than two decades across three coaching staffs and three Rose Bowls.

Home/Football