No. 4 Penn State vs. No. 9 Boise State (Fiesta Bowl, CFP Quarterfinal)

UNIVERSITY PARK- No. 6 seed Penn State takes on No. 3 seed Boise State in a College Football Playoff Quarterfinal game in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. on Tuesday, December 31. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.

SERIES HISTORY: Penn State meets Boise State for the first time in program history. The Nittany Lions are 5-0 against current members of the Mountain West. Penn State’s last matchup against a Mountain West member was a 37-21 win over San Diego State in 2015.

FRANKLIN COLLECTS 100TH WIN AT PENN STATE: In the Nittany Lions’ 38-10 win over SMU, head coach James Franklin earned his 100th win at Penn State. Franklin reached 100 wins in 141 games at Penn State. He is one of seven current FBS coaches with 100+ wins at their current school, joining Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz (204), Clemson’s Dabo Swinney (179), Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy (169), Utah’s Kyle Whittingham (167), Air Force’s Troy Calhoun (135) and Georgia’s Kirby Smart (104). Among current FBS coaches with 100+ wins at their current school, Franklin was the third-fastest to 100 wins behind only Smart (117) and Swinney (129).

PICK-SIXES: The Penn State defense tallied three interceptions against SMU, returning two for touchdowns. Dominic DeLuca picked off a pass in the first quarter and returned it 23 yards for a touchdown, his second career pick-six. He added an interception in the second quarter to become the 15th Nittany Lion to record two interceptions in a bowl/CFP game. In the second quarter, Tony Rojas intercepted a pass and took it back 59 yards for a score. Rojas’ 59-yard return is Penn State’s longest interception return for a touchdown in a bowl/CFP game. Penn State returned two interceptions for touchdowns in the same game for the first time since 1998 vs. Michigan State.

THE OPPOSITION: Boise State is the No. 3 seed in the College Football Playoff and earned a first round bye into the VRBO Fiesta Bowl. The Broncos are 12-1 overall and won the Mountain West. In the Mountain West Championship Game, Boise State collected a 21-7 win over UNLV. Heisman Trophy runner-up Ashton Jeanty rushed for 209 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown run.

BY THE NUMBERS

33 – Penn State has collected 33 wins over the last three seasons (2022-24). PSU last won 33 games over a three-season span in 1971-73 (33).

8th – Penn State will make its eighth appearance in the Fiesta Bowl, the most appearances PSU has made in any bowl game.

7-0 – The Nittany Lions are 7-0 in their previous Fiesta Bowl appearances, including a 35-28 win over Washington in 2017.

4 – After pick-sixes by Dominic DeLuca and Tony Rojas, Penn State has four interception returns for touchdowns this season.

BOISE STATE SCOUTING REPORT

Spencer Danielson is in his first full season as head coach at Boise State after a three-week stint as interim head coach in 2023.
He is 15-2 as head coach at Boise State and has led the Broncos to two Mountain West Championship Game victories.
In 2023, he led the Broncos to three wins, including a victory over UNLV in the Mountain West title game.
He was elevated to head coach after seven seasons on staff at Boise State.
Boise State is 12-1 overall and went 7-0 in the Mountain West.
The Broncos entered the College Football Playoffs at No. 9 in the CFP rankings and as the No. 3 seed in the bracket.
Boise State defeated UNLV, 21-7, in the Mountain West Championship game.
In the MWC Championship, RB Ashton Jeanty rushed for 209 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown.
On offense, Boise State ranks third in the nation in scoring (39.1), sixth in total offense (470.2) and fifth in rushing offense (250.5).
Jeanty was recognized as a Unanimous Consensus All-American, the first in Boise State history. He was also the winner of the Maxwell Award and finished as the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy.
Jeanty’s 2,497 rushing yards this season are fourth in FBS single-season history. He owns 29 rushing touchdowns, tying first in the country, and leads the nation in all-purpose yards (2,613).
He has tallied 1,889 yards after contact and forced 143 missed tackles.
Boise State’s defense sits 36th in the country in scoring defense (21.9) and 61st in total defense (361.9).
The Broncos rank second in the nation in sacks per game (3.92).
Edge Jayden Virgin-Morgan leads Boise State with 15.5 tackles for loss and 10 sacks.

SMU NOTES

Penn State is now 2-0-1 all-time against SMU.
The Nittany Lions are 11-6 in full-stadium Penn State White Out games, including six-straight wins.
Penn State is 6-2 when wearing its Generations of Greatness uniforms.
Penn State earned its first win in a College Football Playoff game and improved to 32-20-2 all-time in postseason games (bowls + CFP).
Head Coach James Franklin earned his 100th win at Penn State.
Penn State reached 12 wins in a season for the fourth time in program history, joining the 1973, 1986 and 1994 seasons.
The Nittany Lions won 11 games in a season for the first time under Franklin.
LB Dominic DeLuca picked off a pass and returned it 23 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter. He added another interception in the second quarter.
LB Tony Rojas intercepted a pass and returned it 59 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. Rojas’ 59-yard return for a touchdown is Penn State’s longest interception return for a touchdown in a bowl/CFP game.
Penn State returned two interceptions for touchdowns in the same game for the first time since 1998 vs. Michigan State (David Macklin, 55 yards; Anthony King, 25 yards).
Penn State has returned four interceptions for touchdowns this season.
The last time Penn State returned four interceptions for touchdowns in a season was 1998 (LaVar Arrington, 16 yards vs. Bowling Green; Joe Dawkins, 30 yards; David Macklin, 55 yards vs. Michigan State; Anthony King, 25 yards vs. Michigan State).

PENN STATE EARNS 55TH POSTSEASON APPEARANCE

Penn State is making its 55th postseason appearance, including bowl and CFP appearances, ranking ninth all-time.
Head Coach James Franklin has guided his teams to a postseason appearance 13 times (3 at Vanderbilt; 10 at Penn State).
Penn State’s 32 postseason victories (bowl and CFP) are fourth nationally and lead all Big Ten schools.
The Nittany Lions’ 61.1 winning percentage in postseason games (bowl and CFP, 32-20-2 record) is No. 8 nationally among teams with at least 20 bowl appearances.
Penn State has played in 16 different bowl games and has played in each of the New Year’s Six bowls.
Penn State made its first postseason appearance in 1923 when it traveled across the country to face USC in the Rose Bowl Game to cap off the 1922 season.

PENN STATE IN THE FIESTA BOWL

Penn State has a 7-0 record in seven previous appearances in the Fiesta Bowl.
Penn State participated in the seventh (1977; Arizona State), 10th (1980; Ohio State), 11th (1982; USC), 16th (1987; Miami), 21st (1992; Tennessee), 26th (1997; Texas) and 47th (2017; Washington) editions of the game.
Penn State’s seven appearances in the Fiesta Bowl are the most of any bowl in program history.
Only Ohio State (9; 5-4) has appeared in the Fiesta Bowl more than Penn State, while Arizona State (5-1) and Nebraska (2-4) have six appearances.
The 1977 Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State was only bowl game Penn State played against a Big Ten team. Penn State joined the Big Ten in 1993.
The 1982 Fiesta Bowl played between Penn State and USC was the first played on New Year’s Day.
The Nittany Lions won their second National Championship against Miami (Fla.) in one of the most memorable National Championship games ever at the 1987 Fiesta Bowl. The No. 2 Nittany Lions intercepted Heisman winner Vinny Testaverde five times to earn their second 12-0 season.
The 2017 Fiesta Bowl against Washington featured a 92-yard touchdown run by Saquon Barkley and 342 passing yards and two touchdowns by Trace McSorley as the Nittany Lions never trailed in the game.