What We Learned From Penn State's Win Over Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl

The Nittany Lions put together another superb postseason rushing game and withstood a key injury to beat the Broncos in the College Football Playoff.

Penn State Nittany Lions running back Nicholas Singleton (10) rushes for a touchdown against the Boise State Broncos during the second half in the Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Penn State gave its fans a New Year’s Eve treat Tuesday in the Fiesta Bowl, pulling away from Boise State 31-14 to punch its ticket to the College Football Playoff semifinal. While the Nittany Lions await their opponent in the Orange Bowl, here’s what we learned from the win over the Broncos. 

Penn State’s ground game dominates again

The difference between a Big Ten team and a Mountain West team was on full display in the trenches, as Penn State’s offensive line got a tremendous push against the Broncos. Penn State running backs Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton continued to propel Penn State’s playoff run. It was a season-high 134 yards for Allen, who showed his blend of vision and power all night with an efficient average of  7.9 yards per carry. Boise State contained Singleton well for most of the night, but he ripped off a 58-yard touchdown to seal the game in the fourth quarter. 

“Having the running backs going like that all day was awesome for us as an offense,” Penn State tight end Tyler Warren said. “I was really happy that we broke off that long with Nick. I know after grounding and pounding for a little bit, to see that was just awesome. My happiest moment from the game was probably when he broke that offense. Just looking over at the sidelines and seeing everybody celebrating.”

Quarterback Drew Allar made some great throws Tuesday night, threading the needle to Tyler Warren for two touchdowns and dropping a deep ball right into Omari Evans’ hands for another score. He also was inconsistent, missing on seven straight attempts and finishing 13-for-25 for 171 yards. 

Penn State could have made more big plays downfield but had some passes dropped. Still, it feels like this offense is trending toward a run-first play style now more than ever. 

In the Big Ten championship game against Oregon, the Nittany Lions ran for 297 yards. In the first-round playoff game against SMU, they had 189 yards. On Tuesday, it was another 216 yards. This production has come against not only three playoff teams, but teams with very stout run defenses statistically. 

Penn State’s next opponent — either Notre Dame or Georgia — ranks in the top 40 nationally in rushing yards per game allowed. That said, if these early playoff games are any indication, the Nittany Lions should keep pounding the rock, at least until their opponent can consistently stop it.  

Penn State’s defense holds up against Jeanty

When it came to stopping Boise State star running back Ashton Jeanty, Penn State did better than anybody has this season. The Heisman runner-up finished with a season-low 104 yards on 30 carries, or 3.5 yards per attempt. Those were pedestrian numbers by his standards. 

Overall, Penn State’s defensive line controlled the point of attack, as 21 of Jeanty’s 30 carries went for three yards or less. That set up Boise State behind the sticks on second and third down, which forced quarterback Maddux Mansen to attempt 35 pass attempts, his second-highest total of the season. 

Boise State going to the air benefited Penn State to the tune of three interceptions. The Broncos would hit some big plays through the air, like a 53-yard touchdown for tight end Matt Lauter, who was all alone after a coverage breakdown. Penn State must fix moments like those before next round, but it was overall a good performance for the Nittany Lions. Their goal was to contain Jeanty, and they did that enough to get the win. 

“I think we knew going in, one of the strengths of their team was stopping the run,” Boise State coach Spencer Danielson said postgame. “They're one of the top 10 rushing defenses in the country. We've played against a good rushing defense. We knew we would get their best stuff, and we did. We didn't win one-on-ones consistently enough to be as explosive as we needed in the run game.”

Looking ahead, that run defense is likely to be tested again. Notre Dame is led by a 1,000-yard rusher in speedster Jeremiyah Love, while Georgia employs a solid two-back rotation between Nate Frazier and Trevor Etienne. Further, both teams have offensive lines that should be able to match Penn State’s size up front. Still, after stopping the best back in the nation, the Nittany Lions have to feel pretty confident in themselves. 

Abdul Carter’s injury looms

The concern for Penn State coming out of this game is the health of Abdul Carter, who left the game in the first half with an apparent injury to his left arm. Carter was on the sideline with his helmet off in the second half and celebrated with the team after the game. The severity of the injury is unclear. 

“With Abdul, I don't know a whole lot,” Franklin said. “We'll get that checked out and see.

Obviously, No. 1, the safety and health and welfare of our guys is priority No. 1. But then, I know Abdul will want to play next week and he'll do everything in his power to play next week, if he's able to. We'll find out more. I don't have a whole lot more information than that.

Without Carter for most of the game, the Nittany Lions defensive line still got plenty of pressure. Amin Vanover stepped in to make a sack and two tackles for loss.  On the other side, Dani Dennis-Sutton had his way with one sack and 2.5 tackles for loss. Carter’s injury ultimately wasn’t a huge factor against the Broncos, but it could be a big blow if he’s not back in time for the Orange Bowl. 

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Sam Woloson has covered Penn State Athletics for the past three years and is currently the managing editor of The Daily Collegian. His work has also appeared in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Huntingdon Daily News and Rivals. Follow him on X @sam_woloson