This version of Penn State may be animal set to run wild through CFP bracket

After beating SMU in a 38-10 first round blowout, the Penn State Nittany Lions are seemingly in a great spot to make a deep College Football Playoff run with the bracket favorably shining on them.

The Lions are set to face off against Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl. They'll avoid a crucial quarterfinals test as top-tier national championship contender Oregon, Ohio State, Notre Dame, and Georgia face games that will have to send some of them home.

While Ashton Jeanty's star play won't make it easy on the Lions, it's fair to say that Penn State could be faced with another program that doesn't compare in terms of offensive or defensive talent. The Broncos who won double-digit games this season have struggled to dominate teams in the Mountain West.

Boise State may be a team that plays down to their opponents, though they gave their only real top-tier opponent Oregon a hard fought-battle to the last minute. It's fair to factor in their games against low-to-mid tier Mountain West bowl teams at best (excluding UNLV obviously).

Penn State also looked amazing in their first-round game with the defense humming in ways that made fans dream of a possible game where Jeanty looks extremely limited and possibly somewhat in a non-existent quarterfinals playoff game. The defense limited the Mustangs electric offense to only 258 total yards for the entire game.

Considering this, it's fair to say that the Penn State Lions have a easier road than other national championship contenders have when it winning it all this season.

Penn State seems to have an easy road towards a deep CFP run

Although Penn State is set for a date against Notre Dame or Georgia if they beat Boise State, it's fair to say that the program could have the first or second easiest opponent of the quarterfinals.

In all reality, the only other championship contender in their position is Texas, who is set to face off against Arizona State in Chick-fil A Peach Bowl. It's possible that Boise State or even Arizona St pulls off the upset against Texas or Penn State in the quarterfinals. Still, it's clear that the Nittany Lions will have a favorable matchup against the Broncos and avoid one battle that other championship contenders will face in this bracket.