The No. 6 seed Penn State Nittany Lions made it well known on Saturday afternoon that they're a true contender for the national championship at Beaver Stadium, dismantling the No. 11 seed SMU Mustangs 38-10.
Penn State was led by a dominant defensive effort including a pair of first-half pick-sixes and was able to overcome a slow offensive start to cruise to victory. Below, Happy Valley Insider offers four immediate takeaways from Saturday's win.
1. Penn State's dominant defensive effort shuts down Mustangs high-powered offense
It was a spectacular day for Tom Allen's defense. Against an SMU offense that had 400+ yards of total offense in nine straight games and 11 times in 13 games this season, the Nittany Lions kept the Mustangs to just 253 total yards. The Nittany Lions kept the dynamic Kevin Jennings to just 20-of-36 in the game for 195 yards and one touchdown. The Nittany Lions defense also forced three first-half interceptions as well. Two of those interceptions resulted in pick-sixes.
Against a talented SMU rushing offense, the Mustangs averaged just 2.2 yards per carry with star running back Brashard Smith to just 18 carries for 62 yards, an average of 3.4 yards per carry. Kevin Jennings had no space to escape the backfield when under pressure and was constantly being terrorized by Abdul Carter, Dani Denni-Sutton, and the rest of the Nittany Lions' front seven.
He was sacked three times while also being hurried seven times. He ultimately ended up in the boxscore with eight carries for -25 yards.
When it came to Jennings's abilities as a passer on Saturday afternoon, he stood no chance in the first half. Whether it was the weather, Penn State giving him defensive looks that he was unprepared for or the overall pressure of being in the playoffs, Jennings never looked composed. That lack of composure resulted in numerous turnover-worthy passes including his three first-half interceptions.
2. A shaky day for Allar, Penn State's offense
It wasn't a tremendous day for Penn State's offense, totaling just 325 yards but they were able to do enough in the game. Drew Allar had one of his shakier performances of the season. His final numbers were 14-of-25 for 136 yards and no touchdowns. The junior quarterback struggled with his pocket presence, footwork, and vision throughout the course of the game. The Nittany Lions will need him to return to form in 11 days when they take on Boise State.
In his fairness, the Nittany Lions wide receiver unit struggled to get open for most of Saturday's game. One also has to credit the Mustangs for taking away Tyler Waren on Saturday, keeping him to four receptions for 33 yards.
The rushing attack started off slow, averaging less than three yards per carry in the first quarter but as the game progressed, the Nittany Lions were able to get the ball rolling. They averaged 7.2 yards per carry in the second quarter and 5.1 yards per carry in the third. In the fourth quarter, they were kept to just 3.7 yards per carry choosing to go conservative as they put in true freshman quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer. Nonetheless, Penn State totaled 189 rushing yards in the game and averaged 4.7 yards per carry.
Nicholas Singleton led all rushers on Saturday with 14 carries for 90 yards and a touchdown. Kaytron Allen had 11 carries for 70 yards and two scores. While the numbers may not be as impressive as those posted two weeks ago in Indianapolis, the second and third quarters were impressive. If the Nittany Lions continue to run like they have over their last few games dating back to their White Out victory over Washington, they'll be a hard team to beat the remainder of the College Football Playoffs.
3. Not a banner day for special teams
It was not a great day for either team's special teams unit. The weather clearly had an effect on the special teams units, as one fellow beat writer quipped, it's like "kicking a watermelon". That looked to be a fairly accurate statement throughout the game. The usually strong-legged Gabriel Nwosu struggled to get the ball to the endzone on kickoffs, punter Riley Thompson's two punts were just 31 and 33 yards while Ryan Barker's lone field goal attempt barely snuck over the goal post.
The results were not too much better for SMU. Their punter, Isaac Pearson averaged just 35.5 yards and their reliable kicker Collin Rogers missed a usually easily makable 42-yard attempt in the third quarter.
One other area of concern that emerged on special teams was the Nittany Lions' kick coverage teams. The Mustangs returned three kickoffs on Saturday for 77 total yards and averaged 26 yards per return including a long of 41. It shouldn't be a major concern but in the college football playoffs, the little things matter all that much more and a special teams gaff on kick coverage could very well help determine a game down the road.
4. Penn State is a legitimate national championship contender
I imagine that Penn State is not going to get much credit from the national media for beating SMU. I also imagine that there will be a strong discourse regarding if SMU even belonged in the College Football Playoffs (they did). That being said, Penn State on Saturday put together a dominant effort against the Mustangs that in my opinion showed that the Nittany Lions are legitimate national championship contenders.
The Penn State defense is without a doubt one of th best in the entire country and their offense while shaky on Saturday has the capabilities to be dominant as well. We saw those capabilities, especially against Oregon and several times throughout the season.
Looking back at the Big Ten Championship Game, I thought the game being played indoors on turf helped the Nittany Lions' offense quite a bit, and I wouldn't be surprised to see potential similar results in Phoenix in 10 days. The weather factor will also be thrown out as well as previously discussed. Those two factors alone benefit the Nittany Lions greatly.
Looking ahead, Penn State will be a sizeable favorite over Boise State and recent history shows the Nittany Lions should and will likely win that matchup. Then in the College Football Playoff semifinals, they would receive a favorable matchup in my opinion against either Georgia or Notre Dame. While both the Bulldogs and Fighting Irish are title contenders themselves, they don't possess the receiving threats that can expose the Nittany Lions secondary as Oregon did. Both teams are primarily run-first offenses and the Nittany Lions have the quarterback advantage in both matchups, based on everything we've seen out of Drew Allar before Saturday.
If the Nittany Lions can beat Notre Dame or Georgia, games that are likely to be pick-ems or potentially in favor of Penn State, you're suddenly one win away from a national championship. We'll pump the breaks there but the idea of a favorable path to the national championship game has been a strong talking point regarding Penn State thus far and after Saturday's performance, it's hard not to like where the Nittany Lions stand and their path heading into the quarterfinals.
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