One down, three to go. The Penn State Nittany Lions (12-2) passed the first test of the College Football Playoff, downing SMU in a lopsided victory last weekend. Now, James Franklin and company hit the road to take on the Boise State Broncos in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl in Arizona.
Prior to the College Football Playoff clash between the Nittany Lions and Broncos, Happy Valley Insider takes a first look at Spencer Danielson's Boise State squad.
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Game/Broadcast Details:
Where: Glendale, AZ
Stadium: State Farm Stadium (Official capacity of 63,400)
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Television: ESPN - Bob Wischusen (PxP), Louis Riddick (Color), Kris Budden (Sideline)
Odds: Penn State is a 10-point favorite, over/under is 52.5 points. (FanDuel)
Time to prove it:
The College Football Playoff has brought much discussion regarding who deserved a spot in the 12-team field after last week's lopsided first round matchups, with Indiana and SMU receiving heat. The set of quarterfinal battles has the potential to continue such conversations as Boise State and Arizona State, received byes after winning their respective conferences, but being on the outside of the top four of the rankings.
Spencer Danielson and the Broncos have had a special season out in Boise, marching the program to its first ever College Football Playoff appearance and will play in a "New Year's Six" game for the third time. Boise State marched through the Mountain West en route to a conference title and its only loss was a three-point defeat to Oregon in week two.
That will come against a soaring Penn State team that just dismantled SMU in Happy Valley to give proponents of a smaller field or more SEC teams in the field fuel. The Nittany Lions can further push that narrative against Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year's Eve, or the Broncos could change the conversation.
That is just an added storyline to next week's game, however, as James Franklin and company are solely focused on going 1-0 and clinching a spot in the semi-finals.
Key Boise State stats/notes to know...
The Jeanty Show:
Surprised we went this long without mentioning Ashton Jeanty? The All-American running back and Heisman Trophy runner-up runs the show for the Broncos offense as he continues to put together a historic season out of the Broncos' backfield.
Jeanty has been flawless in his true breakout campaign, rushing for 2,497 yards and 29 touchdowns to make up one of the top rushing attacks in all of college football for the Broncos. He also sits just 131 yards from Barry Sanders' FBS single-season rushing record of 2,628, which came in 1988.
Penn State will have its toughest test to date in terms of the opposing run game and will aim to keep Jeanty from making history next week and give Boise State an opportunity to end its season.
Broncos' defense rounding into form:
To go along with one of the nation's top scoring offenses, Spencer Danielson's defense is peaking at the right time. The Broncos own a top 40 scoring defense in college football and have been getting better during the final month of the regular season, holding teams to an average of 16.0 points per game over their last five contests.
That includes their most recent outing against UNLV, where Boise State held the explosive "Go-Go" offense to just seven points, which had only been done against Michigan in 2023.
It was a shaky start for the defensive unit in Boise, surrendering 30.0 points per game across the first five games of the year, including 37 points to Oregon and 45 points to Georgia Southern. After that start, the Broncos have settled in as one of the better defensive units in the country down the stretch.
That presents another challenge for the Nittany Lions, who will be tasked with conquering another stellar group, as they just did against SMU.
Series history:
When Penn State and Boise State take the field on New Year's Eve, it will mark the first ever meeting between the two programs.
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