Boise State to face Penn State in Fiesta Bowl

Third-seeded Boise State (12-1) will take on No. 6 Penn State (12-2) in the Fiesta Bowl.

The College Football Playoff quarterfinal is scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. Mountain time kickoff on New Year’s Eve at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

The Lions, who fell to No. 1 Oregon (13-0) in the Big Ten Championship Game, demolished No. 11 SMU (11-3) in Saturday’s CFP first-round matchup, 38-10. Pick-sixes from Dominic DeLuca and Tony Rojas staked Penn State to a 14-0 lead, which swelled to 28-0 by halftime.

Penn State’s defense held SMU to 253 total yards while forcing three turnovers.

Senior tight end Tyler Warren, who finished seventh in the Heisman Trophy voting, ended the day with just four catches for 33 yards. The 6-foot-6, 257-pound Warren has 92 catches for 1,095 yards and six touchdowns this season for the Lions.

Penn State entered the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff ranked No. 6 nationally in total defense at 282.1 yards allowed per game. The Lions are No. 8 in scoring defense (16.4 points allowed) and No. 9 in rushing defense (103.6 yards allowed).

Boise State ranks third in scoring offense (39.1 points per game), fifth in rushing offense (250.5 yards) and sixth in total offense (470.2 yards).

FanDuel opened Penn State as a 10.5-point favorite over Boise State with a total of 54.5 points.

After capturing their second straight Mountain West Football Championship, the Broncos were awarded the No. 3 overall seed and a first-round bye for the College Football Playoff. Big Ten champion Oregon, No. 2 Georgia (11-2) of the SEC and No. 4 Arizona State (11-2) of the Big 12 also received first-round byes.

The Broncos are riding an 11-game winning streak heading into the Fiesta Bowl, including a 21-7 victory over No. 24 UNLV (11-3) in the MWC Championship.

Boise State junior running back Ashton Jeanty, the Heisman Trophy runner-up, needs 132 rushing yards in the CFP to break Barry Sanders’ FBS single-season rushing record. Jeanty leads the nation in carries (344), yards (2,497) and touchdowns (29).

Earlier this month, Jeanty won the Maxwell Award (college football player of the year) and Doak Walker Award (best running back in college football). The two-time Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year finished a close second to Colorado’s Travis Hunter in the Heisman voting.

The Fiesta Bowl winner will advance to face No. 7 Notre Dame (12-1) or No. 2 Georgia (11-2) in the Sugar Bowl. The College Football Playoff Championship game is scheduled for Jan. 20 in Atlanta.

Boise State holds a 3-0 all-time record in the Fiesta Bowl with victories in 2007, 2010 and 2014.

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