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3 takeaways from Penn State’s Fiesta Bowl win over Boise State
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Penn State entered Tuesday’s Fiesta Bowl vs. Boise State looking to become the first team to punch a ticket to the semifinals of the 12-team College Football Playoff. After the first quarter ended, it appeared the game might wind up in a blowout.
The Nittany Lions built a 14-0 lead and appeared unstoppable on offense with big runs and deep shots aplenty. Then, Boise State woke up and showed that the Broncos still had plenty of life in the matchup with a takeaway and sustained drive of their own.
Penn State would carry a 17-7 lead into halftime but watched as Boise State climbed right back into the mix with a touchdown off some busted coverage by the defense. But from then on, it was all Nittany Lions.
The offense would close the game on a 14-0 run while the defense gave Penn State a +3 turnover margin with 4 total takeaways. Now, the Nittany Lions can rest and regroup to face the winner of Notre Dame-Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.
Here are the key takeaways from Penn State’s 31-14 victory in the Fiesta Bowl:
The Kaytron Allen show
On the surface, it’s hard to spotlight just one offensive contributor who stood out for the Nittany Lions. Drew Allar threw for 3 touchdowns, Tyler Warren recorded 2 receiving touchdowns, and Nicholas Singleton had the breakaway 58-yard touchdown to ice things late.
However, it’s hard not to spotlight what Kaytron Allen did for the Nittany Lions out of the backfield, even without a touchdown to his credit.
When it was all said and done, Allen finished with 134 yards and 17 carries. He was fantastic from start to finish, and he was particularly instrumental in getting the ground game off on the right foot.
Allen’s first 4 runs of the game all went for a first down, including a massive 23-yard gain on the first possession for Penn State. He also had a huge 50-yard pickup, complete with running over a Boise State defender, get called back due to a holding penalty.
Allen and Singleton have both been instrumental in Penn State’s season, and this night, it was Allen’s hard running early that gave the Nittany Lions momentum offensively.
Status of Abdul Carter looms large
Abdul Carter finished the 2024 season as the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and ranked in the top-10 nationally for sacks and tackles for loss. He has been a terrorizing force for the Penn State defense all season long, and he was active early in the Fiesta Bowl.
Unfortunately, Carter went to the injury tent early in the game and remained there for a long time. While he never went to the locker room before halftime, Carter did not re-enter the game and was spotted with his left arm heavily wrapped in some form of a sling during the 2nd half.
There was no official update on Carter’s status during the game, but the fact the star pass rusher did not re-enter the contest is certainly troublesome. He is a major game-changer defensively, and any absence in the semifinals would be a massive blow for the Nittany Lions, regardless of the opponent.
Potentially another concern is that Penn State’s other defensive end, Dani Dennis-Sutton, came up hobbled after one play late in the game. At that point, there was no need for Dennis-Sutton to resume the game, but fans will hope he is also okay after he produced a sack and 2.5 TFL vs. the Broncos.
James Franklin nets top-10 win
The struggles of Franklin against top-10 teams is well-documented, and for good reason. The head coach was 3-24 against AP top-10 teams all time, posting the worst winning percentage (.111) of any coach since 2000 in that category. (25 games minimum)
In the first round, Franklin did not have to put that stat to the test against SMU with the Mustangs finishing No. 12. Boise State, however, was a different story at No. 8 in the country.
And Franklin’s squad delivered. In spite of some rocky miscues, Penn State still raced out to a 17-7 halftime lead and maintained complete control down the stretch.
With Nicholas Singleton’s breakaway touchdown with around 5 minutes to play, Penn State could finally start to breathe a bit. Now, the Nittany Lions will be able to wait for a matchup against an AP top-5 opponent in either Georgia (No. 2) or Notre Dame (No. 5). Those teams will face off in the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
