Penn State advances to College Football Playoff semifinals with rout of Boise State

The Nittany Lions will play in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 9 vs. the winner of Wednesday's Sugar Bowl between Notre Dame and Georgia.

Penn State tight end Tyler Warren (44) celebrates his touchdown against Boise State during the first half of the Fiesta Bowl on Tuesday.Read moreRick Scuteri / AP

by Avery Hill

Published Dec. 31, 2024, 11:33 p.m. ET

GLENDALE, Ariz. — One half of the Orange Bowl is set as Penn State defeated seeded Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl, 31-14, on Tuesday night.

The Nittany Lions will make their first trip to the College Football Playoff semifinals Jan. 9 in Miami (7:30 p.m., ESPN) against the winner of Wednesday’s Notre Dame-George game.

After the hoopla surrounding Boise State (12-2, 7-0 Mountain West) running back Ashton Jeanty going up against Penn State (13-2, 7-1 Big Ten) junior defensive end Abdul Carter, Jeanty finished with 104 yards while Carter exited early with an arm injury and never returned.

Each time Penn State expanded its early lead, Boise State pulled closer. But it was a strong defensive second-half effort, led by three interceptions, that secured the Nittany Lions' victory.

Oh so close for Jeanty

Jeanty entered the game 131 yards away from Barry Sanders’ single-season rushing record. Penn State loaded the box all game, getting the best of Boise State’s offensive line. The Nittany Lions’ Dani Dennis-Sutton finished with 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack.

Jeanty still broke plenty of tackles, but he fumbled twice in the first half, and Penn State recovered one.

Run game dominates

Junior running back Kaytron Allen was close to having a couple of breakthrough runs. And then there’s the couple that he did break — one for 23 yards and another that got called back for holding. By the end of the first half, Allen had 76 yards rushing en route to a game-high 134.

When Penn State needed to ice the game, junior Nick Singleton went off to the races for a 58-yard score. He also passed 1,000 yards for the season. The Nittany Lions rushed for 216 yards.

Drew Allar comes up big

Penn State junior quarterback Drew Allar already announced he’s returning for 2025, but could he change his mind?

Allar started the game throwing dimes, hitting both senior tight end Tyler Warren and junior receiver Omari Evans for first-quarter scores. It was one of Warren’s two scores, giving Allar three for the game.