UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 6 seed Penn State Football (12-2, 8-1) defeated No. 11 seed SMU (11-3, 8-0), 38-10, Saturday afternoon at Beaver Stadium in the College Football Playoff First Round. A total of 106,013 Penn State faithful watched the contest as part of the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff with first-round matchups hosted at campus sites. Penn State advances to take on No. 3 seeded Boise State in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl on Tuesday, Dec. 31 at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Penn State reached 12 victories for the fourth time in program history (1973, 1986, 1994, 2024). The Nittany Lions will take part in their eighth Fiesta Bowl, their most appearances of any bowl game. Their last appearance was in 2017, a 35-28 victory over Washington.
Head Coach James Franklin won his 100th career game at Penn State in his 141st game with the program. He is one of seven current FBS coaches with 100-plus wins at their current institution.
The Penn State defense intercepted three passes, returning two for touchdowns, in the first half. It was the first time the Nittany Lions returned two interceptions for touchdowns in the same game since its 1998 contest against Michigan State. Linebacker Dominic DeLuca returned one 23 yards in the first quarter to open the game’s scoring. In the second quarter, linebacker Tony Rojas pushed Penn State’s advantage to 14 points with a 59-yard pick-six. Deep in the red zone, DeLuca intercepted his second pass of the first half to keep the Mustangs from scoring in the second quarter. The Blue and White held SMU, the nation’s sixth-highest scoring offense at 38.5 points per game, to just 10 points. The Nittany Lions stopped the Mustangs on 3-of-14 third down attempts and 1-of-3 of their fourth down tries. SMU finished with just 58 rushing yards.
Penn State wreaked havoc in the backfield, recording three sacks and 11 tackles for loss. Defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton led the charge with 1.5 sacks. Fellow defensive end Abdul Carter recorded one sack and two tackles for loss. Defensive tackle Coziah Izzard collected 1.5 stops for loss, including a sack. Linebacker Kobe King led the squad with eight total tackles.
On the offensive end, the Nittany Lion rushing attack led the way with 189 yards. The duo of Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton combined for 160 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. Allen rushed 11 times for 70 yards and two scores while Singleton totaled 90 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.
Quarterback Drew Allar completed 13-of-22 passes for 127 yards through the air. Wide receiver Harrison Wallace III caught four passes for 48 yards. Mackey Award-winning tight end Tyler Warren finished with four catches for 33 yards.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Penn State put up a strong defensive stand early, forcing a turnover on downs by the Mustangs on their first possession of the game. On their next possession, a pick-six by DeLuca put the first points of the ballgame on the board as the Nittany Lions went up 7-0 at the 6:08 mark of the opening quarter. The score was Penn State’s first postseason (Bowl/CFP) interception returned for a touchdown since the 2019 Cotton Bowl.
The Nittany Lions went up 14-0 on the Mustangs on another pick six, this time a 59-yard return touchdown by Rojas. The score came with 13:09 on the clock in the second quarter.
SMU punted on its next drive before it got the ball back on a Nittany Lion turnover on downs and promptly gave up its third interception of the first half. DeLuca picked off Jennings for the second time in the first half of play and returned the ball 14 yards to set up the Penn State offense at its own 25-yard line.
Allar led the unit 75 yards down the field in nine plays for another score to go up 21-0 with five minutes remaining in the second quarter. The drive took 3:06 and was capped off by a 25-yard rushing touchdown by Allen.
Yet another forced turnover on downs by the Nittany Lions set them up with the ball at the SMU 38-yard line. A one-yard rushing touchdown by Singleton increased the Penn State advantage to 28-0 with 1:03 to play in the first half. The offense took seven plays to travel 38 yards for the score.
The Nittany Lions entered the halftime locker room up 28-0 on the Mustangs, with 21 of the 28 points coming as a result of a turnover.
A 41-yard kickoff return by the Mustangs out of halftime led to SMU’s first scoring drive of the game. A 28-yard field goal was the result of a nine-play 42-yard drive that made the score 28-3 Penn State.
SMU attempted an onside kick on its ensuing kickoff, and Penn State recovered the attempt at the Mustangs’ 48-yard line. Ryan Barker then converted a 40-yard field goal at the end of the Nittany Lion drive as Penn State answered SMU’s three points with three of its own, going up 31-3.
Penn State tacked on another touchdown early in the fourth quarter on a four-yard run by Allen. The nine-play, 75-yard drive took 5:26 off the clock and put the Nittany Lions ahead 38-3 with 12:56 remaining in the game.
SMU scored its first touchdown of the game with 7:31 to play in the fourth quarter. A 28-yard touchdown pass from Kevin Jennings to Roderick Daniels Jr. made the score 38-10 in Penn State’s favor.
The Nittany Lions carried their 28-point advantage through the end of the game and registered a 38-10 victory in the first round of their first appearance in the College Football Playoff.
The 2024 Penn State football season is presented by PSECU.