The Penn State Football Report Card: Fiesta Bowl Edition

The Nittany Lions spun another defensive gem while their running backs buoyed an uneven day for the offense.

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin reacts against the Boise State Broncos in the Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

GLENDALE, Ariz. | Penn State went from turning out Boise State's lights to giving them a free wakeup call Tuesday night in the Fiesta Bowl. Then, Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar engineered a need-to-have-it touchdown drive, something he has done multiple times this season, to wrestle himself out of a self-imposed cold streak. Penn State went on to defeat the Broncos 31-14, earning their first trip to the College Football Playoff semifinals.

Though the prime story line of its Fiesta Bowl win was its ability to curb Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, Penn State also cued a gutsy drive at the right time. And it kept the Nittany Lions' season rolling along. With that, to the report card.

OFFENSE: B-

Running backs Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton, who combined for 221 on 29 carries, ran as though they were in contract years. Allen has been particularly possessed this postseason, totaling 328 rushing yards in three games. He out-Jeantyed Ashton Jeanty. If they run like this for two more games, Penn State can win more hardware. Now to offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki. He called two overly elaborate third-and-short plays that sidelined his backs. As a result, Penn State was 2-for-5 on third-and-short. Lesson learned.

Meanwhile, the coordinator pressed the Allar button only 25 times, which seemed even too much with Allen and Singleton pushing Boise State downfield. In particular, Allar missed on seven consecutive passes and was sacked during the stretch before leading that touchdown drive. Allar has been maddeningly inconsistent this postseason (53.4 percent completion rate) but also sublime at times. He threw consecutive gems to Tyler Warren and Omari Evans for touchdowns and hit Warren with a lovey ball for their second scoring connection. Allar also was 3-for-7 on third down. Kotelnicki seemed intent on letting Allar throw through his issues, which met with uneven results. Of note: Allar targeted just four players with passes, with Warren getting 11 of his 22 throws.

DEFENSE: A

In the locker room late Tuesday night, defensive coordinator Tom Allen said Penn State was adamant that Jeanty would not break Barry Sanders' single-season rushing record against them. Further, the Nittany Lions wanted to hold Jeanty under 100. They came so close: 30 carries, 104 yards, no touchdowns and just four first downs. Jeanty averaged 3.5 yards per carry, less than half his season average entering the game. On one first-quarter play, end Dani Dennis-Sutton threw Jeanty to the ground for a TFL and back points. That was the symbolic beginning of Penn State's dominant night.

The performance was even more impressive considering Penn State lost Abdul Carter, the Big Ten defensive player of the year, to injury in the first half. Allen had a "Plan B" that included an expanded roles for linebacker Dom DeLuca, ends Amin Vanover and Smith Vilbert and true freshman Max Granville. Everyone contributed. Dennis-Sutton had 2.5 tackles for loss, three players had interceptions, Jaylen Reed made a sack from his Lion position and Kobe King and Amin Vanover forced fumbles (one of which was recovered). Penn State slipped coverages once to allow a 53-yard touchdown pass, but the offense responded to that gaffe. Penn State's defensive effort defined the art of goal-setting.

SPECIAL TEAMS: B

Punter Riley Thompson had an underrated day, averaging 47.2 yards on six attempts, his second-highest average of the season. He also had a 63-yarder, hit three of 50+ and put two inside the 20-yard line. Yay domes. Punt coverage was iffy, notably buying a juke move that prompted a touchback. Kicker Ryan Barker made his only field-goal attempt, from 40 yards, which was notable since Boise State missed two. Primarily, Penn State didn't allow Boise State to shock-return its way back into the game.

COACHING: B+

Allen gets a game ball for devising and implementing the plan to obstruct Jeanty and then for adjusting it when Carter got hurt. He was exceptional. Kotelnicki gets a question mark largely because of those third-and-short decisions. Penn State coach James Franklin has defined this postseason with a no-regrets approach, and coaching aggressively wins more games. However, there's aggressive and there's calling a toss-throwback on third-and-short in your own red zone when your backs are mauling people. Kotelnicki has been revelatory this year, but sometimes he gets in his own way. At the top, Franklin deserves credit for delivering another process-oriented victory. Do you believe in 1-0 now?

OVERALL: A-

Another playoff defensive gem from Penn State, albeit from a different perspective. The Nittany Lions pass-rushed SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings into three interceptions and then swarmed Jeanty into a frustrating Fiesta Bowl night. And another playoff run-game gem from Allen and Singleton. As Franklin said, defense and rushing travels. Next stop: the Orange Bowl.

More Penn State Football

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