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SMU eyes validation, Penn State eyes breakthrough in College Football Playoff opener – The Oakland Press

Pabio December 20, 2024

By WILL GRAVES
AP Sports Editor

It’s not exactly about validation. Yet, it kind of is. For SMU and Penn State.

And each side knows it.

When the 11th-seeded Mustangs (11-2) enter Beaver Winter Stadium on Saturday to meet the sixth-seeded Nittany Lions (11-2) in the first round of the expanded College Football Playoff, they know that There are more than a few people. – especially those who live in Alabama – who feel they have no right to be there in the first place.

“I think we don’t necessarily want to prove the doubters wrong,” said safety Jonathan McGill, a graduate transfer from Stanford. “But I feel like more than anything we want to be proved right. … We deserve to be at this point and on this platform.

A platform Penn State has finally reached after spending the last decade on the fringes of the playoff conversation, but unable — thanks in large part to near-annual falls to Ohio State — to step up.

If the 12-team field had existed since the inception of the CFP, the Nittany Lions could have been a staple. However, the board was limited to four teams during its first 10 iterations. And although they finished in the top 12 of the final CFP rankings a half-dozen times before 2024, they never saw “Penn State” appear in the group until the selection committee gave them a home game against a program that got awfully comfortable very quickly. to disrupt the status quo.

The Nittany Lions are wary, of course. They also believe they’re poised for a breakthrough that seems long overdue during coach James Franklin’s strong, if not wildly successful, tenure — by Penn State’s rigorous standards anyway — 11 years.

“We always talk about, ‘Win the national championship, make the playoffs,’ and now here we are,” said defensive end Abdul Carter, the Big Ten defensive player of the year. “We have this opportunity. We must do everything in our power to make sure we benefit from it.

The winner earns a trip to Arizona on New Year’s Eve to face Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl, this year a CFP quarterfinal. To get there, the Mustangs will have to survive the elements — temperatures are expected to hover in the mid-20s with wind chills less than that — and a massive, white-clad crowd hungry for catharsis.

“Everyone is against us,” Mustangs quarterback Kevin Jennings said. “There’s supposed to be about 100,000 people there and everyone is booing you. It’s probably one of the best feelings in the world, just to come in and be able to upset a talented team.

Agent Carter

If Jennings and the rest of SMU’s fast-paced offense want to pull off anything, they’ll have to do what few have done this fall: stop Carter.

The junior, who moved from outside linebacker to defensive end this season, ranked third in the FBS with 19 1/2 tackles for loss and his 10 sacks tied for the Big Ten lead. While he doesn’t particularly closely monitor the honors bestowed upon him, he admitted to being “snubbed” for the Nagurski Award – given annually to the nation’s best defensive player – adding fuel to an ever-present fire .

“I did a few push-ups that night,” Carter said. “As much as possible. I just use it as motivation, I try not to get discouraged. I still feel like I’m the best defensive player, but not just the defensive player. I feel like I’m the better player overall.

Punish the ponies

Lost in Jennings’ gaze is the play of an SMU defense that is allowing just 20.8 points per game and has racked up 40 sacks, which coach Rhett Lashlee has pointed to as evidence that his Mustangs are more complete than you would believe. in certain circles.

It helps that the Mustangs are willing to play with physicality, something SMU will need to rely on against the bigger, deeper Nittany Lions and an offense featuring do-it-all tight end Tyler Warren.

“We’re proud of it,” guard Isaiah Nwokobia said. “Obviously, you’re going to have your bangs, your bruises, it’s going to hurt. It’s football, man. But we love it.

Beau is not allowed

Penn State will be without backup quarterback Beau Pribula, who made what he called an “impossible decision” to enter the transfer portal in search of other opportunities in 2025.

Franklin supported Pribula’s choice while lamenting the timing of the winter transfer window, which left the Nittany Lions without a player who had been effective in certain packages designed to maximize his mobility.

Freshman Ethan Grunkemeyer takes over behind starter Drew Allar, although it’s unclear whether Grunkemeyer — who has yet to take a snap — will see the field.

“Grunk did a really good job and put himself in position,” Franklin said. “We have a lot of confidence in him.”

Return trip

This is the second straight year in the playoffs for SMU’s Matt Hibner. He played primarily on special teams the last three seasons at Michigan, but developed into a tight end for the Mustangs. The 6-foot-5, 254-pounder has 20 catches for 299 yards and four touchdowns over the last five games.

“We thought he was that type of player,” Lashlee said. “We always felt like he was a versatile player and could really help us in the running game where we needed a boost, but he could also still make plays.”

___

AP Sports Writer Stephen Hawkins in Dallas and Associated Press Writer Travis Johnson in State College, Pennsylvania contributed to this report.

Originally published: December 19, 2024 at 4:00 p.m. EST

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SMU eyes validation, Penn State eyes breakthrough in College Football Playoff opener – The Oakland Press

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