It was not even close. While it looked as though SMU was going to score on a short field early in the first quarter, a terrible day for Mustangs quarterback Kevin Jennings culminated in a fantastic showing for James Franklin's Penn State Nittany Lions. No. 6 Penn State obliterated No. 11 SMU to the tune of 38-10 to win their first-round home game as part of the 12-team College Football Playoff.
Penn State earned the No. 6 seed in the expanded playoff by going 11-2 (8-1) this season. The Nittany Lions had one quality win over Illinois earlier in the season, but suffered a pair of losses to conference foes. Their lone blemish during the regular season was at home to now No. 8 Ohio State. They later fell to the top-seeded Oregon Ducks in the Big Ten Championship Game in a barn burner.
What we saw out of Penn State vs. SMU was a team that has serious aspirations to win a national title. Drew Allar played well, but it was Abdul Carter and the Nittany Lions defense that carried the way. Jennings and the rest of the SMU attack had no answer for Tom Allen's Penn State defense. It was not until late in the game that SMU finally scored an offensive touchdown. This one felt over immediately.
Now that Penn State has advanced to the national quarterfinals, who and when are they playing next?
Who does Penn State play next in the College Football Playoff?
Next up for Penn State will be the No. 3-seeded Boise State Broncos. They will take on the Mountain West and Group of Five champion at the Fiesta Bowl on New Year's Eve. Boise State finished the season ranked higher than both Big 12 champion Arizona State and ACC champion Clemson to secure the third of four first-round byes that are handed out strictly to the conference champions.
Boise State was bolstered by Heisman Trophy runner-up running back in Doak Walker recipient Ashton Jeanty. Although the Broncos do not compete at the Power Four level, their only loss on the season was a close call to the only undefeated team left in the country in Oregon. Boise State's three best wins on the year came over UNLV twice and Washington State in glorified Mountain West play.
As expected, Penn State will be a heavy favorite to defeat Boise State and get to the national semifinals. While we know that those two games will be held at the Cotton and Orange Bowls, the location will be determined by the seeds of whoever gets to the final four. After that, Penn State would then face the winner of the other semifinals game for the national championship in Atlanta.
Now that we know who Penn State is playing next, let's take a look at the remaining playoff schedule.
Full College Football Playoff schedule: Penn State's schedule and path
Here is all what we have to look forward to the rest of the way when it comes to the playoff bracket.
CFP Matchup (Bowl Game) | Date, Time, TV Channel |
|---|---|
No. 12 Clemson at No. 5 Texas (First Round) | Saturday, Dec. 21, 4:00 p.m. ET (TNT/Max) |
No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State (First Round) | Saturday, Dec. 21, 8:00 p.m. ET (ESPN/ABC) |
No. 6 Penn State vs. No. 3 Boise State (Fiesta Bowl - National Quarterfinals) | Tuesday, Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN) |
TBD vs. No. 4 Arizona State (Peach Bowl - National Quarterfinals) | Wednesday, Jan. 1, 1:00 p.m. ET (ESPN) |
TBD vs. No. 1 Oregon (Rose Bowl - National Quarterfinals) | Wednesday, Jan. 1, 5:00 p.m. ET (ESPN) |
No. 7 Notre Dame vs. No. 2 Georgia (Sugar Bowl - National Quarterfinals) | Wednesday, Jan. 1, 8:45 p.m. ET (ESPN) |
TBD vs. TBD (Orange Bowl - National Semifinals) | Thursday, Jan. 9, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN) |
TBD vs. TBD (Cotton Bowl - National Semifinals) | Friday, Jan. 10, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN) |
TBD vs. TBD (College Football Playoff National Championship) | Monday, Jan. 20, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN) |
While we do not know what venue the Boise State vs. Penn State winner will play at, we do know they will be facing the winner of the Sugar Bowl between No. 7 Notre Dame and No. 2 Georgia. If Georgia beats Notre Dame in New Orleans, we can reasonably expect for the Fiesta Bowl winner to meet the Sugar Bowl winner in the Orange Bowl because top-seeded Oregon would choose the Cotton Bowl.
Although there is a chance Penn State could play in the Cotton Bowl, most realistic machinations have the Nittany Lions going to the Orange Bowl should they beat Boise State. I don't want to spend any more time on that right now than necessary, but let's just say it is way more likely than not that Penn State would face the winner of Georgia vs. Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl in the semifinals.
You can almost taste it, right? Well, when was the last time Penn State even won a national title?
When was the last time Penn State won a national championship?
To date, Penn State has two claimed national championships in 1982 and 1986, as well as an unclaimed one from 1994. Keep in mind that Penn State competed as a national independent prior to joining the Big Ten in 1993 as the 11th member. Their 1986 national championship came over the Miami Hurricanes in a low-scoring affair in the 1987 Fiesta Bowl, 14-10. Penn State went undefeated.
In the decades since winning their most recent national championship, Penn State has been one of the most consistently good, but not quite great programs in the sport. They have made the Big Ten better, but have often run into menacing foes in the form of Michigan and Ohio State. For now, the Nittany Lions have one of the easiest pathway to winning a national championship in quite some time.
Now that they have beaten SMU at home, they must beat Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl before getting the best of the Sugar Bowl winner between Georgia and Notre Dame. Potentially meeting them in Atlanta after the national semifinals would be the winner of the Oregon side of the bracket between the Ducks, Arizona State, Texas, Ohio State, Tennessee and Clemson. That side is brutal...
For now, Penn State fans can celebrate the Nittany Lions' biggest win in a generation for a week or so.