Game day is creeping closer in Happy Valley as the No. 6 Penn State Nittany Lions (11-2) put finishing touches on their preparation for No. 11 SMU (11-2) ahead of the opening round matchup in the College Football Playoff. James Franklin and company make their playoff debut and will do so in the confines of Beaver Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Happy Valley Insider gets you primed for the matchup with how to watch, betting odds, weather report and more.

JOIN TODAY AND GET 30 DAYS FREE! | THE LIONS DEN FORUM | PENN STATE FOOTBALL 2025 RECRUITING CLASS | PENN STATE BASKETBALL RECRUITING

When: Saturday, December 20th. 12:00 p.m. ET

Where: Beaver Stadium (Capacity 106,572)

TV: TNT | Mark Jones (PxP), Roddy Jones (Color), Quint Kessenich (Sideline)

Radio: Penn State Sports Network | Steve Jones (PxP), Jack Ham (Analyst), Brian Tripp (Sideline)

As of Friday morning, Penn State is an 8.5-point favorite against the Mustangs, and the over/under for the game is set at 53.5 points, via FanDuel Sportsbook.

Penn State - James Franklin (11th year at Penn State; 14th overall)

- Career Record: 123-56
- Record at Penn State: 99-41
- Record against SMU: 0-0
- Career Accolades: 2016 Big Ten Coach of the Year, 2016 Big Ten Champion

SMU - Rhett Lashlee (3rd year at SMU; 3rd overall)

- Career Record: 29-11
- Record at SMU: 29-11
- Record against Penn State: 0-0
-Career Accolades: 2024 ACC Coach of the Year

A frigid State College is set to play host to Penn State and SMU tomorrow as temperatures will be in the mid-20s throughout the afternoon with partly cloudy skies and a 0% chance of precipitation heading into tomorrow.

ALL TIME RECORD: Penn State 1-0-1

It has been a very brief history between the Nittany Lions and Mustangs, meeting just twice on the gridiron through each program's storied histories. During the first meeting in 1948 in Dallas, the teams settled for a tie. The rematch would have to wait 30 years as Joe Paterno and the Nittany Lions beat the Mustangs 26-21 in Happy Valley.

The third iteration will take place almost 50 years after the last meeting, once again in State College.

--------------------------------------------------------------

• Follow us on Twitter!

• Like us on Facebook

• Follow us on Instagram

• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

•Talk about it inside The Lions Den Message Board

•Talk about it inside the FREE Penn State Message Board