On Saturday night at Lucas Oil Stadium, Penn State failed to pull off the upset over undefeated Oregon in the Big Ten title game.
The Ducks won 45-37 after establishing an 18-point advantage in the first half and holding off James Franklin’s momentum.
However, the Lions seem to have secured a good draw as the sixth seed in the tournament, and it’s college playoff time.
On December 21, Penn State (11-2) will play No. 11 SMU (11-2) at noon. The game will be carried by TNT.
If the Lions prevail, they will face third-seeded Boise State in the quarterfinals on either December 31 or January 1.
Let’s not look too far into the future.
Here is everything you need to know about Rhett Lashlee’s SMU Mustangs, who lost to Clemson in the ACC championship game on Saturday night in a hard-fought 34-31.
The Mustangs went 8-0 in ACC play after joining the conference in 2024. This season, they didn’t play Syracuse, Miami, or Georgia Tech.
After scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter, SMU overcame a 24-7 deficit against the Tigers to tie the game late in the 31st minute. But as time ran out, Nolan Hauser’s 56-yard field goal gave Clemson the victory.
Although they outscored Clemson 458-326, the Mustangs made two costly turnovers.
In the fourth quarter of the Big Ten Championship game on December 7, 2024, Drew Allar, the quarterback for Penn State, flees the field after throwing an interception.
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After SMU qualified for the playoffs, Lashlee stated in an ESPN interview, “I’m just really, really happy.”
We are grateful to the committee for honoring our players for their overall performance, consistency, and play throughout the year.
The first quarter of last night’s game against Clemson was certainly our poorest quarter of football, but I believe our team’s response just highlights our championship composition.
Additional SMU-related notes:
The quarterback for the Mustangs is a capable dual-threat.Kevin Jennings has ran for 379 yards and passed for 3,050 yards. In all, he has scored 27 touchdowns.
Against Clemson, Jennings ran for 35 yards and a touchdown and passed for 304 yards and three touchdowns.
In orbit, Brashard Smith poses a threat.With 1,270 running yards and 19 total rushing-receiving touchdowns in 2024, SMU’s standout back recorded 147 combined rushing-receiving yards and a touchdown against Clemson.
The defense of SMU is disruptive.In 13 games, the Mustangs have recorded 15 interceptions, 41 sacks, 56 QB hurries, and 96 tackles for loss.
Lashlee stated, “I believe that America witnessed last night just the fight and the competitive character our team has, especially in the second half into the fourth quarter.”
They witnessed Brashard Smith and our defense, as well as Kevin Jennings and his incredible talent.
We simply committed far too many blunders in the first quarter; you take that game. Despite falling behind 21–7, the stat line shows that, except from the two turnovers, we essentially won every other aspect of the game right up to the very end.
“I think America saw what SMU is capable of,” Lashlee continued. They may have noticed the ceiling. We are a club that can win at Penn State, advance to the next round, and so on if we play four strong quarters of football, as we have done most of the time this season.
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