Nittany Lions and Broncos Meet In Fiesta Bowl
As we begin the CFP quarterfinal road trip on the eve of 2025, we end up in Glendale, Arizona, and the Fiesta Bowl. In what has been a legendary bowl throughout history the Fiesta now will host #3 Boise State Broncos and the #6 Penn State Nittany Lions for a chance to advance to the Semifinal Orange Bowl on January 9th. We will analyze both programs, give three keys to success in the game, and give a game prediction.
Could we see another late-night matchup on NYE?
Penn State Nittany Lions
Penn State enters this game-winner against their most recent matchup,38-10 over SMU, for their 12th win of 2024. That win is the 100th {100-41 overall record} for Nittany Lion head coach James Franklin in State College in his 11 seasons. Penn State will make their 55th postseason appearance as they take on the Broncos for the first meeting. As mentioned above, this game will be a precursor for the Orange Bowl and quite the contest.
Franklin and the Nittany Lions will look for their success in the Desert to play a major role. PSU is 7-0 all-time in the Fiesta Bowl and the 7 games played mark the most in program history of any bowl. As mentioned above, Franklin now has 100 wins at Penn State making one of seven coaches with 100+ wins at their current program. In addition, Franklin was the third-fastest with 100+ wins behind Kirby Smart, at 117 with Georgia, and Dabo Swinney, who has 129 at Clemson, among active coaches.
With this, we now look at three keys to success for Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl.
3 Keys To PSU Success
Protect Allar At All Costs
For Penn State, the offense runs through the quarterback, Drew Allar, who is a name many across the nation may not be aware of. Allar, a junior, has thrown for 3,021 yards with 21 touchdowns while legging out 4 scores on the ground. His 68.5% completion rate sits atop Penn State history in a season, while his yardage ranks fifth, and his touchdowns in 2024 sit Allar at ninth all-time in Nittany Lion lure.
Allar has completed 45 passes of twenty or more yards this season. The offensive line has taken the image of their positional coach. That man, coach Phil Trautwein is in his fifth season at Penn State. This unit, in 2024, has been efficient which has kept Allar upright. To further this point, the Nittany Lions have allowed 1.06 sacks per game which ranks 3rd in the Big Ten and 16th in FBS. This will be key to their success on Tuesday night as Allar is the engine for the offense.
Continue Tenacious Defense
Defensively Penn State has been one of the most talented units in the nation. To further this point, this component, led by first-year coordinator Tom Allen, ranks 3rd in the Big Ten and 4th in FBS with 280 yards allowed per game. To get deeper into these numbers, the Nittany Lion’s defense has been even more effective against the opposition’s rushing attacks which should be vital in this game. In 2024, Penn State averaged 100 yards per game which slots them in 4th best in conference along with 7th in FBS.
The success defensively has not been one-sided as they are just as efficient against the pass. As they prepare for a successful Broncos passing attack, the Penn State defense will need to lean on their performances thus far. Most recently, in the win against SMU, we witnessed the PSU defense get picky. To be more specific, they were stingy as they intercepted the Mustangs three times in the blowout win. Included in these turnovers were two scores as the Nittany Lions returned two interceptions for touchdowns for the first time since 1998 vs Michigan State. Thus far in 2024, Penn State has returned four interceptions for touchdowns. This marks the first season since 1998 when they also returned four interceptions for points.
The defense will need to hold their 238-yard per game average which sits 8th in the conference and 54th nationally to be successful. The entire unit will be tested on New Year’s Eve. Will they make the toast at midnight after a dominating performance?
Play Nittany Lion Ball
We previewed the offensive leader, in Allar, and the defense who has been relentless in 2024. Now, we analyze why Penn State’s final key to success is to play its game. With the first win in the CFP past them, Penn State now looks to continue their historic season. In 2024, Penn State reached the 12th win for the fourth time in program history while winning 11 games for the fifth time under Franklin.
Success has followed Franklin while in State College, Pennslyvania and this College Football Playoff has shown he can win the big game. The question entering the Tuesday night meeting with Boise is “Can he win another one?”. We will soon find out this answer yet based on the above information, Franklin, and the Nittany Lions have a great opportunity to advance.
Boise State Broncos
The “Cinderella” of the 2024 college football season and the CFP are the Boise State Broncos. We further this statement with the fact that the Broncos received the first-round bye as they have been awaiting their opponent. Under head coach, Spencer Danielson, Boise has been incredible as he has amassed a 15-2 record in just over a full season. The Mountain West Champions are led by running back, and Heisman runner-up, Ashton Jeanty, yet there are many additional weapons on the roster. In addition, the Broncos are also no stranger to the Fiesta Bowl as a program. Entering the game, Boise State is 3-0 in this bowl and will be looking for more magical moments on Tuesday night in Glendale.
The Broncos enter the game with a 12-1 record {only loss to #1 Oregon} overall while being unblemished, with a 7-0 record, in MWC play. We mentioned the only loss of the season coming to Oregon as many across the country have questioned the level of competition faced by Boise State in the “Strength of schedule” argument when the final rankings were released. With this, we will soon see where the lone “G5” member stacks up to the power conferences.
We will now give you three keys for Boise State to have success and continue to wear the glass slipper as we ring in a new year.
3 Keys To Boise Success
Do Not Break Defensively
As great as the offense of the Broncos has been, the defense can’t be forgotten. This unit has allowed 21 or fewer points in five straight games, which has not been done in BSU history since the 2017 season. In this current stretch, Boise has allowed 10 touchdowns while scoring 19 as their defense has climbed into 2nd in the MWC and 36th in FBS with 21.9 points scored per game defensively.
With this, the unit does many things well but we will focus on two for the game plan against Penn State. Boise State brings pressure on their opposing quarterbacks. To further this point, according to PFF, the Broncos have 250 total pressures, which combines sacks, hits, and hurries. On the season, Boise has 17 players with multiple pressures and 23 with at least one. Ahmed Hassanein has a team-high 60, which ranks 4th in FBS, and also has 17 hits on the quarterback which slots him at 3rd in FBS.
Run Ashton Run
As we all know by now, the nation loves to watch Ashton Jeanty. We witnessed his last season as the Memphis Tigers welcomed the Broncos and came away with a massive home win. With this, we have been speaking of his skills since before this game and his 2024 did not come as a surprise to us. The Broncos own the 5th best rushing attack in the nation, with 250 yards per game, as well as 10 games of more than 200 yards. This marks the third straight season of at least seven 200-yard rushing games in a single season for Boise State.
The average of 250 yards per game is the highest since the program began playing FBS football in 1996. In addition, the Broncos have succeeded against AP-ranked opponents as they are one of six teams to average over 200 yards on the ground in such games. In these games, the Broncos have averaged 207.0 yards while averaging 5.7 yards per rush. To put this into closer perspective in 2024, in the above-mentioned Oregon game, Jeanty would again put on a show for the nation. In that game, we saw the Ducks defense allow Jeanty to score 3 touchdowns while rushing for 192 yards on 25 carries in the 37-34 Oregon win.
Keep Away
As of late, Boise State has found a new format of scoring and that is long drives. To be exact, drives of 90-plus yards which the Broncos have turned in three straight games. This is the longest such streak since 2016 when Boise accomplished this in four games on the season.
With the above stats about the stout defense along with a real weapon in the backfield in Jeanty, this could become a factor not many will discuss. These drives can eat up the clock which would keep Penn State off the field even with the Nittany Lions also having a superb defense. Will we witness another wild Boise State moment on Tuesday night?
Prediction
We have broken down each team, who they are entering this CFP quarterfinal, and the keys to success for both. With all of this said, we at 4 Star Sports believe this could be one of the more compelling and entertaining games in the entire CFP. Many questions will be asked with this meeting between these programs.
Can Penn State stop Jeanty? Will Drew Allar have another stellar performance in a big-game situation? Will Danielson outcoach Franklin?
We now give our score predictions from the 4 Star Sports Media team. Who will be closest? We will soon find out!
Wes Pruett
Boise State 34
Penn State 31
Blake Hogue
Boise State 13
Penn State 35
Jonathan Sturdivant
Boise State 14
Penn State 24
Madison Penke
Boise State 35
Penn State 28
Khala Hoyle
Boise State 33
Penn State 21
