GLENDALE, Ariz. — Penn State recently has been a punchline in all-important games. That has been its reputation under coach James Franklin, whose consistency is underappreciated thanks to his teams’ propensity for coming up short in the got-to-have-it moments.
Neither SMU nor Boise State were considered true title contenders despite their presence in the expanded College Football Playoff, but Penn State impressed in how it discarded both. Now it’s set for the Nittany Lions to face either Georgia or Notre Dame — who play in the Sugar Bowl on Thursday — in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 9.
After trouncing SMU 38-10 in the opening round, Penn State knocked off Boise State 31-14 in Tuesday’s Fiesta Bowl. Here are three key takeaways from the Nittany Lions’ performance.
1. Drew Allar has been inconsistent during his career, but when he’s on, he’s unquestionably one of the higher-upside quarterbacks in the country. He fired two impressive touchdown throws in the first half, an 11-yard lob to the back of the end zone and a beautiful 38-yard scoring toss. He hit a lull in the middle of the game, in part because of his supporting cast’s struggles, but Allar finished 13-for-25 passing for 171 yards and three touchdowns.
Quarterback play obviously is a crucial element of every team. In this case, Allar could determine whether Penn State finally can get past a team of Georgia or Notre Dame’s talent level.
“Drew makes big-time throws,” Franklin said. “He’s a big-bodied kid. He was able to make plays with his feet, which has been a huge part of his development and our offense’s growth. But Drew’s had a phenomenal college career, and he’s only going to get better.”
2. For three years, Georgia tormented opposing defenses with Brock Bowers. If they advance, they’ll experience that from the other perspective. Nittany Lions tight end Tyler Warren might not be Bowers, but he’s been the country’s most dominant tight end and appears certain to be a first-round NFL draft pick this spring. He starred Tuesday, catching six passes for 63 yards and two touchdowns.
That’s nothing new for Warren, who has 1,158 receiving yards and eight touchdown catches. He’s a tough task for any defense, even those of Georgia’s and Notre Dame’s tier. His 98 receptions broke Allen Robinson’s single-season school record (97) set in 2013.
3. If Warren is one of the top two players on Penn State’s team, edge rusher Abdul Carter is the other. He exited Tuesday’s game with a wrist injury and had it wrapped while watching from the sidelines. Penn State didn’t provide an update after the game, but Carter’s status will be an important storyline leading to the Orange Bowl.
“I don’t know a whole lot,” Franklin said. “We’ll get that checked out and see. Obviously, No. 1, the safety and health and welfare of our guys is priority No. 1. But then, I know Abdul will want to play next week, and he’ll do everything in his power to play next week, if he’s able to.”
A Philadelphia native, Carter has 11 sacks and two forced fumbles this season. He’s been a wrecking ball on defense — Boise State had more success upon his exit — and one of the most impactful players in the nation. Carter is expected to become a top-10 draft pick this spring.
4. Penn State, the country’s No. 7 rush defense, largely contained Broncos running back Ashton Jeanty, the Heisman Trophy runner-up who finished with the second-highest single-season rushing total ever. He had 104 yards on 30 carries — a 3.5 average, far inferior to his 7.3 mark entering the game — and he broke only one sizable run (26 yards).
“I think we did corral him,” Franklin said. “He got some yards there at the end. And I think defensively, I think our team was sick of me talking about him. I think we got the point across about the respect that we have for that young man and the type of running back he is. Even today, I think our defense would say they have a ton of respect for him and how many tackles he was able to break and how strong he is and the contact balance. He’s an impressive guy.”
On the other side, the Nittany Lions ran the ball extremely effectively. They have two thousand-yard backs for the first time in school history with Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen. The pair produced 211 yards on 29 carries Tuesday, including a late 58-yard Singleton touchdown that finished the game.
“Having the running backs going like that all day was awesome for us as an offense,” Warren said. “I was really happy that we broke off that long with Nick. I know after grounding and pounding for a little bit, to see that was just awesome to see. My happiest moment from the game was probably when he broke that offense. Just looking over at the sidelines and seeing everybody celebrating.”
Franklin added regarding Penn State’s rushing attack: “When you’re able to run the ball, it is a powerful thing at this point of the season. We want to be able to rely on that. It also sets you up in your play-action passes as well; makes them more explosive. Being able to run the ball, being able to control the line of scrimmage, whether it’s your offensive line or our defensive line, is critical. It showed up tonight. To your point, it’s really kind of showed up all season.”
5. Penn State has forced seven turnovers in two playoff games. That’s a winning formula, though turnovers are in part random. Notre Dame does an excellent job protecting the ball; Georgia less so, and it would have quarterback Gunner Stockton making his second-career start. An opportunistic defense awaits one of them.
