Dominic DeLuca and Tony Rojas returned interceptions for touchdowns and No. 6 seed Penn State advanced in the College Football Playoff with an easy 38-10 victory over No. 11 seed SMU on Saturday afternoon at University Park, Pa.
DeLuca also had another interception as the Nittany Lions (12-2) built a 28-point halftime advantage in Happy Valley. Penn State will face No. 3 seed Boise State (12-1) in a quarterfinal game at the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz., on Dec. 31.
“Being able to come out with a win on the first week of playoffs is huge,” DeLuca said. “I’m excited to celebrate with my brothers.”
Nicholas Singleton rushed for 90 yards and one touchdown and Kaytron Allen had 70 yards and two scores for the Nittany Lions, who thrived in 25-degree weather that felt like 12 degrees at kickoff. Drew Allar completed 13 of 22 passes for 127 yards.
“I thought our defense played lights out, obviously, when you’re able to create three turnovers and two for touchdowns,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “Took us a while to get going on offense, but as good of a half as I’ve seen on defense in a long time.”
Kevin Jennings threw all three of his interceptions in the first half for an SMU team that was overmatched from the outset. The Mustangs (11-3) were the final team to earn an at-large bid into the 12-team field, edging Alabama.
Jennings completed 20 of 36 passes for 195 yards and threw a touchdown pass to Roderick Daniels Jr. Brashard Smith had 177 all-purpose yards (77 kickoff, 62 rushing, 24 receiving, 14 punt) for the Mustangs.
Penn State outgained SMU 325-253.
“We didn’t play very good today,” SMU coach Rhett Lashlee said. “But this team is a quality team. We were a good team, we earned our spot here, we deserved to be here.”
Jennings pointed the finger at himself for the miscues. He had thrown just eight interceptions entering the contest.
“I made mistakes three times and just gave the defense the ball making careless mistakes,” Jennings said. “Yeah, just not being protective with the ball, and, yeah, that’s really it.”
Jennings’ first interception came when DeLuca picked off the throw at the SMU 23-yard line and ran it in for a score with 6:08 left in the opening quarter.
His second interception came when Rojas nabbed his pass and meandered 59 yards for a score to give Penn State a 14-0 lead with 13:09 left in the first half.
“We didn’t have a great start offensively,” Allar said. “To be going up 14-0 and offensively we really didn’t do anything up to that point was huge.”
SMU was threatening to get on the board five minutes later when DeLuca batted a Jennings pass in the air and caught it at the Nittany Lions’ 11, then returned it 14 yards.
“He’s one of the smartest players I’ve ever coached,” Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Allen said. “He spent so much time studying, preparing. He anticipates really, really well.
“Obviously a huge, huge takeaway, two picks and one for a touchdown, that were just so monumental today.”
Penn State then traveled 75 yards on nine plays to push the lead to 21. Allen capped the drive with a 25-yard run around the left side with five minutes left in the first half.
Singleton scored from the 1 with 1:03 left to give the Nittany Lions a 28-point halftime edge.
SMU got on the board in the third quarter on a 28-yard field goal by Collin Rogers. Penn State got the three points back on Ryan Barker’s 40-yard field goal with 8:13 left in the period.
Allen tacked on a 4-yard run to boost the Nittany Lions’ lead to 38-3 with 12:56 left in the contest.
Jennings hit Daniels from 28 yards out with 7:31 to play.
Though it was a rough day for the Mustangs, defensive end Elijah Roberts feels more success is just around the corner.
“I know today didn’t go as planned, but if you’re a recruit, if you’re a transfer or something like that and you really want to have a special place to come play, like, why not here?” Roberts said. “We’re just on the rise right now.”
–Up next for Penn State: vs. No. 3 Boise State, Fiesta Bowl, Dec. 31, 8 p.m ET (College Football Playoff quarterfinal)
–About Boise State: The Broncos feature a superstar in Heisman Trophy runner-up Ashton Jeanty, who has rushed for a national-best 2,497 yards, just 131 shy of Barry Sanders’ 1988 record. Boise State also knows something about making noise at the Fiesta Bowl after being hefty underdogs against Oklahoma on Jan. 1, 2007, before recording a 43-42 victory with winning two-point conversion coming on the Statue of Liberty play.
–Field Level Media
