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Penn State set to battle Boise State in CFP quarterfinals

Penn State linebacker Dominic DeLuca (0) celebrates an interception for a touchdown with Tyler Warren against SMU during the first half in the first round of the College Football Playoff, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in State College, Pa. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)

It’s time for the College Football Playoff quarterfinals with No. 6 Penn State coming into Glendale, Ariz. as 11.5-point favorites against No. 3 Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl.

A win would put the Lions in the semifinals at the Orange Bowl in Miami against Wednesday night’s winner of the Georgia-Notre Dame game in the Sugar Bowl.

Here are five keys to a PSU win:

Limit Ashton Jeanty

Notice the key word being ‘limit’ rather than take Jeanty away completely. Chances are the PSU defense won’t completely stop the All-American.

The best any team has done against Jeanty this season was Portland State, which held him to 127 yards on just 11 carries. UNLV held him to 128 yards on 33 carries back in October, but Jeanty followed that up with a 209-yard performance against that same team in the Mountain West championship game.

Jeanty will likely get a bunch of yards. In fact, he went over the 200-mark six times this year. But the key will be to slow him down as much as possible.

Take away the

passing game

It can’t be stated enough that Jeanty will get his yards. But everyone else on the Broncos’ offense isn’t nearly the caliber of opponents that Penn State has seen. I’m looking at you, Dillon Gabriel of Oregon, or Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith.

Boise State quarterback Maddux Madsen has seen a lot in college football, and Penn State has been susceptible to giving up large chunks in the pass game.

But what did Madsen do when he played another elite Big Ten team this season in Oregon? He went 17 of 40 for 148 yards with one touchdown pass.

It may be imperative to make Madsen as uncomfortable as possible.

Create more

turnovers

Remember the SMU game just 10 days ago? Once Dom DeLuca and Tony Rojas both returned interceptions for touchdowns for PSU to go up 14-0, that might as well have been game over.

Yes, that was in a home environment in Beaver Stadium, but the Lions still had all the momentum and it would be the same at a neutral site.

What if the Penn State defense can cause Jeanty to fumble the ball away? It will probably be a split crowd at State Farm Stadium, but the PSU faithful would blow the roof off the place.

Get the offense back on track

A lot of attention is being turned to PSU’s defense vs. Jeanty and Co., and it’s deserved. But what about Drew Allar’s offense that wasn’t exactly at its best the last time we saw them.

Yes, the offense looked a lot better in the second half, especially Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen getting plenty of tough yards. It would be nice to see Allar leave no doubts, and bury the Broncos early.

Don’t get too cute

This is a big one for offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki.

There shouldn’t be as big of a need to run gadget plays or endless smoke and mirrors against Boise State. Sometimes all that’s needed are the attitude plays where the offensive line gets a big push and Singleton or Allen gets seven yards on first down.

I enjoy it as much as anyone when you see offensive lineman Vega Ioane in motion as a lead blocker, but that shouldn’t be needed today.

Maybe the best call is for Kotelnicki to tell his team, “I like my offensive front more than the Boise State front seven.”

That’s a huge confidence boost at a position group that is already playing exceptionally well lately.

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