No. 6 seed Penn State became the first team to earn a spot in the College Football Playoff semifinals with a 31-14 win against No. 3 seed Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl on Tuesday night. The Nittany Lions will meet the winner of Wednesday night’s Notre Dame vs. Georgia game on Jan. 9 in the Orange Bowl with a spot in the national championship on the line.
In a game filled with miscues on both sides, Penn State got more big plays from its All-American, tight end Tyler Warren, than Boise State got from Heisman Trophy runner-up Ashton Jeanty. Warren caught a pair of touchdowns, while the Nittany Lions contained Jeanty and prevented the running back from breaking Barry Sanders’ single-season FBS rushing record. With Jeanty contained, Boise State couldn’t survive four turnovers, 13 penalties for 90 yards and two missed field goals against the heavily favored Nittany Lions.
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Penn State (13-2) got an exclamation point touchdown with 4:54 left when Nicholas Singleton broke free for a 58-yard touchdown to put the game out of reach for the Broncos, who finished their season 12-2. Both teams entered the game undefeated in the Fiesta Bowl; the Nittany Lions moved to 8-0 in the game, while Boise State fell to 3-1.
With the win, Penn State has a 51 percent chance to make the championship game and a 20 percent chance to win its first national title since 1986, according to The Athletic’s projections model.
PENN STATE BREAKS THE GAME OPEN 😳
Nicholas Singleton takes it 58 yards to the house 🏠 pic.twitter.com/bE4KuTM77T
— ESPN (@espn) January 1, 2025
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
It’s not just the Playoff path: Penn State is clicking at the right time
For most of the season I would not have put “Penn State” and “national title contender” in the same sentence. The Nittany Lions were fortunate to survive on the road at Minnesota in their second-to-last regular season game, winning 26-25. But it seems like something flipped the next week, a 44-7 home rout of Maryland. It’s been playing with a different swagger ever since, even in defeat against Oregon in the Big Ten championship game, in which their offense was unusually explosive.
So don’t blame the postseason path. While not as dominant against Boise State as it was against SMU in the previous round, Penn State was barely in danger Tuesday night. As soon as the Broncos got within 17-14 in the third quarter, quarterback Drew Allar marched them back down the field and threw a perfect touchdown pass to Warren. A generally sloppy performance helped keep Boise State in it longer, but Singleton’s late touchdown dash assured another lopsided final score.
The Nittany Lions will be underdogs in their semifinal game against Georgia or Notre Dame, but it would be silly at this point to count them out. Not with their running game humming like it has the past few games, with the Allar-to-Warren connection and a defense that proved to be the first all season capable of slowing down Jeanty. — Stewart Mandel
Penn State bottled up Jeanty without its best defender
The assignment was known all week: Get everyone to the football to wrap up and tackle Jeanty. Tom Allen’s defense did what nobody else in college football has done this season and held Jeanty to a season-low 104 yards rushing on 30 carries. His previous low was 127 yards against Portland State in September. It’s the first time he’s averaged under four yards per carry since Sept. 30, 2023.
Penn State lost the Big Ten defensive player of the year, defensive end Abdul Carter, in the second quarter, as he exited with what appeared to be an injury to his left arm and did not return. In his place, Amin Vanover stepped into a bigger role while reserves Smith Vilbert and freshman Max Granville also chipped in.
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That Penn State was able to keep Jeanty in check without one of the best defensive players in college football on the field for most of the game was remarkable. The interior of Penn State’s line with Zane Durant, Dvon J-Thomas and Coziah Izzard was stellar. The defense took Boise State away from what it does best, while Penn State’s offense rolled up 216 rushing yards of its own behind Kaytron Allen (134 yards) and Singleton (87 yards). — Snyder
Penn State held Ashton Jeanty to just 3.5 yards per rush. (Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
Jeanty’s historic season ends with a whimper
The final stat line was solid enough: 104 yards on 30 carries, if well below his 192.1 yard-per-game average this season. Jeanty finished his epic year with 2,601 rushing yards, 27 yards short of Barry Sanders’ all-time record of 2,628 yards — though he did pass Melvin Gordon for second on the list.
After one of the greatest single-season performances by a running back in the history of college football, Jeanty couldn’t quite muster the superhuman magic he flashed all season for Boise State. The Heisman runner-up had just 39 rushing yards at halftime and another 23 receiving yards, as he was swallowed up by a swarming Penn State defense.
“They have a great D-line, front seven,” Jeanty said. “I mean, it wasn’t really that they did anything extraordinary. They executed. They tackled. We didn’t play our best. I didn’t take care of the ball. So that’s why we weren’t able to get the job done.”
Tuesday’s showing shouldn’t negate or diminish what Jeanty accomplished in 2024, but the unanimous All-American failed to put an exclamation point on a memorable season, which fit the broader theme of an overmatched Boise State team against Penn State. — Williams
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Warren comes up big again
Warren, who won the Mackey Award as the nation’s best tight end, broke Penn State’s single-season record for catches when he hauled in his 98th reception during the third quarter. Fittingly, Warren did so with a spectacular 13-yard touchdown grab in the back of the end zone. That touchdown — his second of the game — extended Penn State’s lead to 10 points. He finished with six catches for 63 yards.
Allar had an uneven game, especially when pressured, but Penn State’s pass-catchers put together one of their most impressive showings of the season. In addition to Warren living up to his All-America billing, Omari Evans flashed big-play potential with a 38-yard touchdown reception to give the Lions a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Penn State has needed someone to step up to complement Warren, and it finally got that Tuesday — a promising sign as the Playoff run continues. — Snyder
TYLER WARREN’S SECOND TD OF THE DAY 😮
He extends the lead for the Nittany Lions 🏈 pic.twitter.com/kulMW52CNb
— ESPN (@espn) January 1, 2025
Broncos too conservative in first half
On the opening drive of the game, Boise State attempted a 45-yard field goal on fourth-and-2 from the 28-yard line rather than hand the ball to the best running back in college football. Kicker Jonah Dalmas shanked it so badly that “wide left” doesn’t do it justice.
It was a surprising decision by a Boise State team that entered the game 15-for-21 on fourth-down attempts, as it’s been aggressive and inclined to go with the analytics this season. In a game where the Broncos were a double-digit underdog and at a clear talent disadvantage, Boise State had a chance to set the tone and get some early momentum. It squandered that chance.
It was a similar story late in the first half, when Boise State chose to punt on fourth-and-1 from its own 29 yard line. The analytics probably wouldn’t have favored that one, but the punt led to a Penn State field goal and 17-7 Nittany Lions halftime lead. A team that was aggressive in those moments all season went the other direction in a big moment and came up empty both times. — Williams
What’s next on Jan. 1?
The remaining three quarterfinals will be played in a triple-header at bowl sites on Wednesday:
- 1 p.m. ET: No. 4 Arizona State vs. No. 5 Texas (Peach Bowl)
- 5 p.m. ET: No. 1 Oregon vs. No. 8 Ohio State (Rose Bowl)
- 8:45 p.m. ET: No. 2 Georgia vs. No. 7 Notre Dame (Sugar Bowl)
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(Top photo of Tyler Warren: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)