GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Penn State defenders clogged every hole, stretched out every outside run, closed with ferocity.
Everywhere that Ashton Jeanty turned, he ran into Nittany Lions. The Heisman Trophy runner-up still went over 100 yards, but he sure had to work for it.
Drew Allar threw three touchdown passes and No. 5 Penn State bottled up Jeanty for a 31-14 win over No. 8 Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl on Tuesday night, earning a spot in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
“We knew who we were going against. We knew we had to have hats to the ball every single play because every play he could break one,” said Penn State safety Zakee Wheatley, who had an interception and recovered a fumble. “We did that the whole game.”
The Nittany Lions (13-2, CFP No. 6 seed) opened their first CFP berth with a blowout win over SMU and appeared headed toward the latest lopsided victory in the new 12-team format by jumping out to a 14-0 lead against Boise State.
But the Broncos (12-2, CFP No. 3 seed) have relished the role of underdog, going back to when their brand went national in the electrifying 2007 Fiesta Bowl, and they had an answer.
Boise State galloped back from the early deficit, trimming the margin to 17-14 early in the third quarter, momentum seemingly on its side.
And then Penn State turned the tide for good.
Allar threw his second touchdown pass of the night to John Mackey Award winner Tyler Warren, and Nick Singleton burst up the middle for a 58-yard TD run, sending the Nittany Lions to the Jan. 9 Orange Bowl against No. 2 Georgia or No. 3 Notre Dame.
“We played a complete game,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “Our offense, defense and special teams, we played complementary football, did some special things.”
Penn State did it by controlling the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball most of the night and hounding Jeanty at every turn.
The AP first-team All-America selection finished with a season-low 104 yards on 30 carries, just 3.5 yards per carry — half his season averaged. Jeanty finished 27 yards short of Barry Sanders’ single-season NCAA record set in 1988 at Oklahoma State.
“They have a great D-line, front seven,” Jeanty said. “It wasn’t really extraordinary. The executed, they tackled and we didn’t play our best.”
Penn State’s defense was dominant most of the night, but its offense was just as good, particularly on the ground.
The Nittany Lions ran for 216 yards, including 134 by Kaytron Allen and 87 by Singleton. Allar was steady after facing criticism most of the season, throwing for 171 yards on 13-of-25 passing.
He was particularly sharp early, finding Warren in the back of the end zone for an 11-yard touchdown, then Omari Evans in stride for a 38-yard score for a two-touchdown lead.
“Being 14-0, that isn’t something anybody really wants to be in,” Boise State coach Spencer Danielson said.
The Broncos, as they always seem to, fought back to give themselves a chance.
Boise State got back in it by getting pressure on Allar, putting a halt to Penn State’s marches down the field, and got a huge momentum boost when Allar fumbled two plays after Jeanty lost his third fumble of the season.
With Jeanty surrounded on nearly every play, Boise State turned to Tyler Crowe and the fullback took several Nittany Lions with him for an 8-yard touchdown run that cut Penn State’s lead in half. The comeback seemed to still be in reach with Matt Lauter’s 53-yard TD catch in the third quarter, but the Broncos ran out of answers after that.
Maddux Madsen threw three interceptions and Jonah Dalmas missed his second field goal attempt, leaving the Broncos short of the CFP semifinals.
“A lot of people counted us out and we came up a couple plays short,” Danielson said.
Up next
Penn State will play No. 2 Georgia or No. 3 Notre Dame in the Jan. 9 Orange Bowl.
Boise State opens the 2025 season Aug. 30 at South Florida.
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