Penn State basks in Fiesta Bowl win as playoffs continue: ‘This is cheer’

GLENDALE, Ariz. – The stench of cigar smoke hung in the air as the doors to the Penn State locker room opened. Players plucked blue-and-white confetti from their uniforms as they longed to stay in this moment a little longer on Tuesday night.

They took pictures and posed with Fiesta Bowl signs after their 31-14 win over Boise State. They talked about going to Miami in a few days, when Penn State will host the winner of Georgia-Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff semifinals in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 9.

As midnight approached on the East Coast and 2025 began — a detail lost on most of the revelers here — these Nittany Lions had placed themselves two wins away from a national championship. This group, with quarterback Drew Allar, tight end Tyler Warren, a two-headed rushing attack and a stifling defense that throttled Boise State and star running back Ashton Jeanty, is on a path that generations of Penn State players and fans have dreamed of sore.

Penn State football hasn’t won a national championship since 1986, and while the 12-team Playoff field changes a lot, PSU realistically hasn’t been in a similar position since going undefeated and winning the Rose Bowl in 1994 when it finished. up to be snatched by the polls and finish the season as no. 2.

“This is cheering,” said running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider, flanked by his running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen. “Happy New Year. We’re telling all these kids not to take it for granted.”

Generations of fans in their 30s and under have wondered what something like this postseason run might look and feel like. Fans of all ages have tuned in with an unexpected Big Ten title game trip, a home playoff game against SMU and a Fiesta Bowl bid with Miami now in the lead.

“It’s been a long time,” former Penn State quarterback Todd Blackledge, the leader of the 1982 national championship team, said this month as he planned to watch this group from afar. “They probably should have won in 1994 with Kerry (Collins) and all those guys. … As a former player and proud alum, I’m very happy about that.”

Regardless of how this season ends, Penn State proved it is one of the top four teams in the sport. The favorable Playoff path was met by a team that tore apart both opponents. Yes, Penn State was favored in both games, but it also deserves credit for not shrinking in those moments.

This isn’t just some Penn State team that can do one or two things well. There is real faith in the idea that it has as good a chance as anyone in this wide-open field to win it all. It has posted 31 points or more in each of its last three games against Oregon, the Playoff’s top seed, SMU and Boise State. It tied the top running back in college football with 104 yards rushing, and did so without star defensive end Abdul Carter, whose status remains unclear after suffering what appeared to be an injury to his left shoulder.

Carter did not play in the second half Tuesday as he huddled on the sideline. He was met there by safety KJ Winston, who has not played since suffering a season-ending injury in September.

As the confetti fell onto the field afterward, Carter reached for the trophy with his right arm, keeping his left close to his side. Winston beamed and spoke in the locker room afterward about embracing his role of trying to keep the energy high on the sidelines while he rehabs.

“If you told me we would have had to do this without (Carter), I would have been really nervous,” defensive coordinator Tom Allen said. “Other guys had to step up. Amin (Vanover) stepped up when Abdul went down, and that’s what this team is all about.”

There is something special and something different about this group.

Seider, who has been with head coach James Franklin since 2018, said this team reminds him of the 2019 squad. The Nittany Lions are young in places, with plenty of talent and superstar headliners, as linebacker Micah Parsons was for that group. But that group never lived up to its potential as the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season changed the roster.

“We’ve been robbed of that,” Seider said. “But if you look at this group three years ago when we recruited Drew, Nick, Kaytron, Abdul, Dani (Dennis-Sutton) that you knew this class had a chance to be special and now they’re playing to their potential, but they’re also playing together as a team. No one is pointing fingers. That’s what makes us a really good football team right now.”

As Seider spoke, Kaytron Allen leaned back against his locker, his No. 13 jersey spattered with grass stains and the phone in his hands lighting up with congratulatory messages. For the first time in his career, the third-year running back eclipsed 1,000 yards. On a field across from the Heisman near-miss, the guy Penn State teammates affectionately call his childhood nickname Fatman looked more like Superman.

Allen ran with the hard-charging style that endeared the coaching staff to him when they recruited him. His 17 carries for 134 yards continued a late-season surge in which Penn State’s backs have been red-hot. Singleton slammed the door on the Broncos with a 58-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Both backs averaged more than 7 yards per carry. carry.

“Being able to rely on the run game at that point (late) in the game when you’re wearing your opponent down is a huge deal,” offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki said. “That’s what winning football teams do. … Championship teams have good line play on both sides of the ball.”

Across the dressing room from Kotelnicki was Dennis-Sutton. The defensive end’s eyes were just as intense on his locker as they were about an hour before when his helmet popped off after being on the receiving end of a hands to face penalty. It’s a look his teammates and coaches see every day from the player working opposite Carter whose value is just as critical.

How Penn State put this pass-rushing duo together — both part of the coveted 2022 class — is one of its finest feats. Dennis-Sutton stuffed Jeanty on the first play from scrimmage. He stood up and celebrated, knowing it was a setter. Dennis-Sutton dropped Jeanty for a 2-yard loss on the second drive.

Dennis-Sutton took over the game and finished with six tackles, one sack and 2.5 tackles for loss.

“I’m a physical defensive end,” Dennis-Sutton said. “I can do anything on the field when I want to. … Our defense stated that we can stop the run no matter who’s on the field. Whether we’re short players or not, we can stop the run. When we rush the passer , we can get to the quarterback.”

For all the holes that will try to be poked in Penn State’s Playoff resume in the next week-plus, the reality is that this group does a lot of things well. In an open season, this team is the first to punch its ticket to the semi-finals.

After the celebratory cigar smoke clears, preparations for the next round begin quickly. Penn State’s players, coaches and fans wouldn’t have it any other way.

“We start 2025 (Thursday) around midnight and try to figure out who we’re playing,” Kotelnicki said. “Happy New Year.”

(Photo by Dani Dennis-Sutton and Amin Vanoverby: Christian Petersen/Getty Images)