No. 6 Penn State punches ticket to Fiesta Bowl via rout of No. 11 SMU in College Football Playoff

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Penn State is moving on in the College Football Playoff after trouncing No. 11 seed Southern Methodist, 38-10, in front of 106,013 spectators packed inside Beaver Stadium on Saturday.

The win secured the No. 6 seed Nittany Lions a quarterfinal matchup against No. 3 seed Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31 (7:30 p.m., ESPN).

After Penn State coach James Franklin compared SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings to the Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson, the Nittany Lions defense held Jennings to just 195 yards on 20-of-36 passing and three interceptions.

“Another New Year’s Six game — we played in a bunch of them,” Franklin said jokingly. “Dramatic pause, so everybody can take that in.”

Penn State’s run game accounted for each of its offensive touchdowns.

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Penn State’s linebackers came to play Saturday.

Jennings seemed rattled by the Nittany Lions’ defense the entire game, beginning with redshirt junior linebacker Dom DeLuca’s 23-yard interception return for a touchdown in the first quarter for the game’s opening points.

Just two drives later, a pressured Jennings lofted the ball to the middle of the field, right into the hands of sophomore linebacker Tony Rojas. Rojas broke a few tackles and returned the interception 59 yards for the game’s second pick-six.

After Penn State (12-2) failed to convert a quarterback sneak by Drew Allar from its own 20-yard line, the former walk-on DeLuca collected his second pick of the game.

“He’s a baller,” Franklin said of DeLuca. “What a shame that there may not be war stories like this in college football with the 105 [number of scholarship players] rule; Dom DeLuca may not happen at Penn State.”

Senior linebacker Kobe King led the Nittany Lions with eight tackles.

And how about the former linebacker? Junior defensive end Abdul Carter collected a sack and two tackles for loss, showing why he is the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.

The game was a blowout by halftime, but it could’ve been closer.

On the first drive of the game, SMU (11-3) marched down the field and nearly scored, but fifth-year PSU corner Jalen Kimber chose to take the pass-interference penalty rather than risk being beaten by receiver Key’Shawn Smith.

Ultimately, the Mustangs ran a bootleg play on fourth-and-1 from the Penn State 19. Jennings had a clear lane to the sticks but instead passed to receiver Matthew Hibner. But Penn State senior safety Zakee Wheatley was there to break it up.

“I truly believe that we are the best defense in the country,” sixth-year defensive tackle Dvon J-Thomas said. “Today was just another opportunity to show that.”

It was one of many bad decisions by Jennings and his squad.

Defensively, the Mustangs held Allar to 13-for-22 passing for just 127 yards. SMU enjoyed some success defensively, but its offense put the team in poor position to compete.

Even SMU’s special teams had a bad day in Happy Valley with a missed field goal and two punts of less than 35 yards.

Penn State has 10 days before its season continues on New Year’s Eve in Glendale, Ariz., against No. 3 seed Boise State (12-1), which had a bye. Boise State features star running back Ashton Jeanty, who has been dominant while closing in on a record-setting season. Jeanty is just 132 yards from eclipsing the Division I single-season rushing record. The 36-year-old record is held by Oklahoma State legend and Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders, who had 2,628 yards.

Jeanty, who finished second in voting for the Heisman Trophy, has delivered one of the best seasons in recent memory from a running back, but Broncos quarterback Maddux Madsen has been electric as well. He threw 29 touchdowns and just three interceptions during the regular season and effectively protects the football.

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