It was a white out for Penn State and a wipe out for SMU.
The (6) Nittany Lions cruised to a 38-10 win over (11) SMU to move on to the next round of the College Football Playoff. The Nittany Lions overcame a sluggish start on offense thanks to a defense that had not one, but two pick sixes in the first 17 minutes of action to stake the offense to a 14-0 lead.
Penn State’s defense would not relent through the rest of the game, and its offense eventually helped out. Due to the game script, quarterback Drew Allar and the passing game weren’t asked to do much, but running backs Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton didn’t mind carrying the load. Penn State finished the day with 189 yards rushing while averaging 5.6 yards per carry minus three sacks. Singleton led the way with 89 yards on 13 carries with a touchdown, while Allen had 70 on 11 with two scores.
All-world everyman Tyler Warren had a quiet day, rushing once for six yards and catching four passes for 33 yards.
As for SMU, it was an absolute nightmare of a performance. The two pick sixes from quarterback Kevin Jennings weren’t his only turnovers in the game; he threw a third interception with SMU in the red zone that killed a scoring chance that could’ve cut into Penn State’s lead in the first half. Jennings was under immediate pressure on seemingly every snap throughout the afternoon, and at times it felt like he was looking for the oncoming blitzer instead of his receivers.
And for good reason. The Penn State defense finished with three sacks and 11 tackles for loss while holding SMU to 3.5 yards per play. The result was the worst performance we’ve seen from the SMU offense all season. The Mustangs had managed to score at least 28 points in 11 of their 12 games this season. The only time they failed to do so before today was in an 18-15 loss to BYU in September.
Penn State will face Boise State at the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Eve.
CBS Sports was here with you throughout the game with updates, highlights and analysis. Read on below for takeaways from Saturday’s CFP first-round matchup.