CFP Spotlight: SMU continues its monumental season vs. Penn State

In a season of firsts, four teams made the College Football Playoff as first-year members of their new conferences: Texas in the SEC, Arizona State in the Big 12, new Big Ten member Oregon, and ACC rookie SMU.

The Mustangs of SMU (11-2) will travel to State College, Pennsylvania to take on the Nittany Lions of Penn State (11-2) in a first-round, on-campus playoff game. Penn State leads the series 1-0-1.

Both teams are coming off losing efforts in conference championships. SMU lost to Clemson in the ACC title game by a 3-point margin on a walk-off game-winning field goal as time expired. Penn State lost to Oregon 45-37.

SMU

The Mustangs went undefeated in the ACC in their first season after coming over from the American Athletic Conference (AAC). After the BYU game, coach Rhett Lashlee named Kevin Jennings the starting quarterback for the rest of the season.

Jennings responded by throwing for 3,050 yards, 22 TDs, and 8 INTs. In addition, Jennings added 5 scores on the ground. Against Clemson, Jennings threw for 304 yards and 3 touchdown passes. His backfield mate is Brashard Smith, who rushed for over 1,200 yards and 14 touchdowns.

On defense, the Mustangs are led by linebacker Kobe Wilson (who leads the team with 110 tackles) and defensive end Jahfari Harvey (who leads the team with 12 tackles for loss and 7 sacks). This defensive unit is ranked in the Top 10 in rushing defense, sacks, and tackles for loss. In addition, SMU has picked off 15 passes. That is good enough for No. 13 nationally.

Penn State

Penn State comes into the playoffs as the 6 seed, but they struggled at times to get here:

• Losing 24-20 to Bowling Green at halftime, won 34-27

·       Defeated USC 33-30, but was losing 20-6 at intermission

·       Won 26-25 over Minnesota

·       Held to just 3 points in the second half in the loss to No. 4 Ohio State

In the loss to Oregon in the Big Ten title game, quarterback Drew Allar threw three TD passes. But, he completed just 51 percent of his passes and threw 2 interceptions.

That loss to the Ducks dropped coach James Franklin’s record vs. AP Top 5 teams to an abysmal 1-15.

Penn State averages 202 yards rushing per contest, led by Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, who have over 1600 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns combined.

Allar’s main target in the passing game is tight end Tyler Warren, a 1,000-yard receiver and the 2024 Mackey Award winner as the top tight end in college football.

The Nittany Lions defense allows just 16 points per game, led by defensive end Abdul Carter, the 2024 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and team leader in tackles for loss and sacks.

Prediction

While this will be a home game for Penn State in front of a raucous crowd in Happy Valley, the Nittany Lions will be going up against the No. 6 scoring offense and a top-ten defense in the FBS. Lashlee has one of the best offensive minds in college football and has the Mustangs scoring 38 points per game.

Against the Mustangs, opponents gain less than 100 yards rushing. If they can shut down Penn State’s running game, making the Nittany Lions one-dimensional, it could mean victory for the Mustangs.

As of this writing, Penn State is favored by 8 points in this game. But this is the biggest of stages and we all know how Franklin and the Nittany Lions perform on big stages. Take the Mustangs and the points for a March Madness-type No. 11 over No. 6 upset. Final score: SMU 35-Penn State 24.

How to Watch SMU vs. Penn State

• Date: Saturday, December 21

• Time: 11 a.m. CT

• T.V.: TNT