Penn State gearing up for Boise State’s ‘generational talent’ Ashton Jeanty ahead of Fiesta Bowl CFP matchup

For the second time this season, Penn State is making a cross-country trip to play a football game.

The stakes couldn’t be higher for its College Football Playoff quarterfinal matchup with No. 3 seed Boise State on New Year’s Eve (7:30 p.m., ESPN). After pulling off a thrilling 33-30 overtime win over Southern Cal at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in October, the Nittany Lions will take the field at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., next week with plenty of previous success: a 7-0 record in the Fiesta Bowl.

However, their opponent has created some memorable moments in previous iterations of this bowl game.

“We spent a lot of time studying different NFL teams, different college teams that had West Coast trips and what they did, how they did it,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “We felt like we had a good plan going to USC. Feedback after the game from the players and from the staff, we thought we did the right thing.

“The combination of being able to go out and play well against USC, learn from that experience, and now travel to the West Coast again for this [quarterfinal] round of the playoff, I think there’s value in us already doing that one time this year.”

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There will be plenty of stars in this matchup. Boise State boasts Heisman runner-up Ashton Jeanty, who is 132 rushing yards away from breaking the season-single rushing record held by Barry Sanders. For Penn State, the focus will be on tight end Tyler Warren and defensive end Abdul Carter, who Broncos coach Spencer Danielson calls “elite players.”

No player has been singularly as important to their team as Jeanty has been for his, and it’s not just against Mountain West opponents. Against opponents Oregon, Oregon State, and Washington State, Jeanty averaged 225.6 yards (7.89 yards per carry) and scored three touchdowns. Franklin said he’s most impressed by Jeanty’s yards after contact, calling it “a ridiculous stat,” and “in any other year, I think he wins the Heisman.”

“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that before. His ability to make people miss, break tackles, and finish runs is really impressive,” Franklin said.

Jeanty’s coach, Danielson, took it a step further. Jeanty, who set College Football Playoff-era records in yards after contact (1,889) and forced missed tackles (143), according to the Mountain West, is “a 10 out of 10 human being,” his coach says.

“He’s one the best leaders and one of the hardest workers we have ever had here at Boise State. He’s a generational football talent but also a generational leader and teammate here,” Danielson said. “If you settle your feet, [Jeanty] does have really good top end [speed] and can work around you. If you come in high, he’s very powerful at the point of attack. I just think he puts people in conflict on the football field, and he’s a relentless competitor.”

Stopping Jeanty will be a priority for Penn State, which ranks seventh nationally in rushing defense this season (100.4). Stacking the box hasn’t worked for the Broncos’ opponents this season. Against boxes that featured seven or more defenders, which he faced a nation-high 266 times, Jeanty scored 25 touchdowns and averaged 6.9 yards per carry.

One weakness that stands out statistically is Boise State’s below-average pass defense, which ranked 110th nationally, allowing 246.8 yards per game. Though Penn State’s passing game managed just 127 yards during Saturday’s 38-10 victory over SMU in its first-round playoff matchup, the Broncos defense will focus on neutralizing Nittany Lions tight end Warren.

Defending tight ends has been a strength of the Boise State’s pass defense, however. Under co-defensive coordinators Tyler Stockton and Erik Chinander, the latter of whom spent one season as the Eagles’ assistant defensive line coach in 2015, the Broncos’ defense has allowed opposing tight ends to eclipse 30 or more receiving yards three times, including a season-high 43 yards from Utah State’s Josh Sterzer on Oct. 5. Even Oregon tight end duo Terrance Ferguson and Kenyon Sadiq, both of whom gave Penn State issues in the Big Ten title game, finished with just 27 yards and 20 yards, respectively, during their Sept. 7 matchup.

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Despite that success, Danielson knows containing Warren starts with knowing where he’s aligned.

“I’m very positive he’s going to be probably the first tight end taken off the board in the NFL draft,” Danielson said. “When you see a tight end, he’s a really good pass catcher, and you got to deal with that, or he’s really dominant and physical at the point of attack in the run game. With Tyler Warren, he does it all. He is extremely violent at the point of attack, either at the front side of a play or on the backside run of a play. He can catch every ball.

“You talk about just an extremely gifted athlete, we got to know where 44 is at all times. And even when you got him covered, he’s the type [of] athlete that he’s still not covered because of how tall he is, how athletic is.”

Danielson added that Penn State’s offense, led by offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, “does a phenomenal job shifting, motioning.” He added that “communication and eye control” will be keys to slowing down Penn State’s 24th-ranked scoring offense.

Boise State has a history of feeling overlooked, despite its sustained success, from its magical 2007 Fiesta Bowl victory over Oklahoma to its first College Football Playoff appearance this season. Franklin acknowledged the Broncos’ success over the years, referencing how the program, which has played at in the FBS for 28 years, has won games no matter who has been the coach. But the Broncos still opened as double-digit underdogs at several sportsbooks after Penn State won over the weekend.

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Boise State has the phrase “Please count us out” printed on T-shirts, and it’s been a mantra that has carried them throughout this season.

“All the outside noise of people counting us out? Awesome,” Danielson said. “We have seen the outside noise of everybody saying how great we are. On either side, you got to block the outside noise, and I believe that. Please count us out. That’s what Boise State football is built on, is people thinking we can’t do something and we work our tails off to find a way to prove people wrong. I believe in our team.

“We use the phrase, ‘Put the ball down.’ Doesn’t matter the stadium or what fans are there — on the 31st, put the ball down. We’re going to be ready.”