Penn State Star Defender Abdul Carter Injured in Fiesta Bowl

The Nittany Lions largely curtailed Boise State's Ashton Jeanty but lost Carter in the first half of the Fiesta Bowl.

Penn State Nittany Lions defensive end Abdul Carter (11) practices before the Fiesta Bowl against the Boise State Broncos at State Farm Stadium. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. | Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter, the Big Ten defensive player of the year, was injured in the first half of the Fiesta Bowl, dealing a blow to the Nittany Lions' defense. Penn State took a 17-7 lead into halftime, one that could have been larger but for some self-inflicted wounds.

Penn State largely contained Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, who finished the half with 13 carries for 39 yards, but couldn't capitalize on the stat. The Fiesta Bowl winner advances to the Orange Bowl for a College Football Playoff semifinal game vs. the winner of Saturday's Sugar Bowl between Notre Dame and Georgia. A look at the first half from State Farm Stadium.

Abdul Carter hurt, misses key series

Carter was hurt early in the second quarter, went to the injury tent, tried to return and left the game again. He was in the tent when Boise State bulled downfield for its first touchdown. The defensive end peeked his head out of the tent when the Broncos scored, prompted by the crowd noise. He spent the rest of the quarter pacing the the sideline, wearing a sleeve on his left arm.

Carter's absence alters Penn State's defense dramatically. Amin Vanover joined Dani Dennis-Sutton as the primary edge, and true freshman Max Granville took over Carter's third-down spot. But Boise State took advantage of Carter's absence on its touchdown drive, which Penn State's offense softened.

Carter emerged after halftime with his left arm wrapped and without a helmet.

Penn State gives Boise State life

Leading 14-0, Penn State had a prime opportunity to drive a real stake through Boise State's rally. Linebacker Kobe King dislodged the football from Jeanty's clutch, which looped fortunately backward to Zakee Wheatley. The Nittany Lions took over at their own 49-yard line tasting jugular. Two plays later, though, Allar and Nicholas Singleton fouled an exchange, leading to a Boise State quick-change turnover. A score there would have given Penn State a three-possession lead and an enormous runway for its defense.

The Nittany Lions then gave Boise State some life with a trick-play attempt on thirddown from deep in their territory. Tyler Warren tossed to Drew Allar, who wanted the throwback to Warren. But the tight end got caught in traffic, and the pass fell incomplete. The Broncos scored on their next series (of which Carter mostly missed) on an 8-yard run by fullback Tyler Crowe.

Late in the second quarter, two penalties on offensive lineman Sal Wormley (holding and facemask) negated 61 rushing yards, including a 50-yard burst by Kaytron Allen. After a superb start to the game, Penn State's offensive line committed four penalties in the second quarter and gave up a key sack. Further, Penn State's offense was 0-for-5 on third down in the second quarter.

Drew Allar loads up early on Boise State's secondary

The Penn State quarterback could not have started the game better. He threw two touchdown gems, on back-to-back passes, to Tyler Warren and Omari Evans, the second for a 38-yard score that gave the Nittany Lions a 14-0 lead. On the first touchdown pass, Allar initially looked at Trey Wallace in the right corner of the end zone but saw Warren crossing from the left. He lofted a dime to Warren, who toe-tapped for the score.

DREW ALLAR AND TYLER WARREN GET PENN STATE ON THE BOARD FIRST‼️ pic.twitter.com/R4cCIwK4yO

— ESPN (@espn) January 1, 2025

Allar began the game 5-for-6 with two touchdowns but labored to continue the momentum. He completed a 20-yard pass to Wallace but fumbled on the next play. Late in the first half, Allar tried to engineer a 2-minute drive, boosted from an acrobatie catch by Evans. But Evans couldn't come down with a potential touchdown catch later in the series, and Warren struggled to get a second hand on a throw across the middle.

Penn State's Ryan Barker kicked a 41-yard field goal to end the half.

Dueling run games

Penn State's Kaytron Allen ran as though he was tired of hearing about Jeanty. He had 10 carries for 76 yards, which didn't include the 50-yarder negated by penalty. Singleton (5 carries, 15 yards) had an 11-yard gain called back.

Meanwhile, Jeanty averaged 3 yards per carry, though he gained 12 on one run.

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