Penn State Slows Down Ashton Jeanty, Wows Fans with Fiesta Bowl Win vs. Boise State
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Penn State is one step closer to reaching the College Football Playoff championship game.
The No. 6 Nittany Lions downed No. 3 Boise State 31-14 in the Fiesta Bowl on Tuesday, punching a ticket to the Orange Bowl and the CFP semifinal.
Penn State seemed to be on its way to a dominant win after taking a 14-0 lead on its first two drives, but the Broncos didn’t go down without a fight. They found the end zone in the second quarter to make it a seven-point game before the Nittany Lions hit a field goal right before halftime.
Boise State was rolling in the second half, opening up the third quarter with a tremendous drive that ended with a 53-yard touchdown pass. Penn State quickly got the points back, however, making it 24-14 heading into the final quarter.
The Broncos had a pair of strong drives in the fourth quarter, but none of them ended with points. They had one interception and another missed field goal and Penn State capitalized on the empty drives, taking a 31-14 lead on a 58-yard run from Nick Singleton.
Singleton finished with 87 rushing yards and a touchdown while his partner in the backfield, Kaytron Allen, had 135 yards on the ground.
ESPN @espn
PENN STATE BREAKS THE GAME OPEN 😳
Nicholas Singleton takes it 58 yards to the house 🏠 pic.twitter.com/bE4KuTM77T
From there, a Boise State interception helped seal the win for the Nittany Lions.
Boise State star running back Ashton Jeanty had a decent game, posting 104 yards on the ground, but it was from what we’ve seen him do this year. After taking care of the ball all year, he had an uncharacteristic fumble in the first half before finally getting things going in the second half.
Had he found his game going earlier, things could have gone differently, but ultimately the Penn State defense was too much for the Broncos.
After the game, fans were impressed by Penn State as it eyes a national championship appearance.
Chris Vannini @ChrisVannini
Boise State has three drives in which it got inside Penn State’s 30-yard line and came away with zero points.
They’re down by 10. It was there to be had. Couldn’t finish.
LilSaucey @GNova04
Penn State is feasting on this Boise st o-line. Georgia vs Penn State is going to be fun to watch
Applied @drewg_smith
Wow. Penn State is one game away from the national championship?!? We used to pray for times like this
Adam Mackey @aa_mmack
Telling you, what Penn State has been able to do since the Ohio State loss has been really impressive.
Watch out for a possible National championship berth for the Nittany Lions
In Karen Huger’s Concubine @GullahRehabbed
The Big 10 will at least have one team in the National Championship.
Penn State is beating Notre Dame in the semi
Cody Slovensky @GBP_TigerKing
Great win by Penn State(there is no comeback) Boise shot themselves in the foot, unfortunately. Hard fought by both teams, no quit. Penn State is playing good ball and are dangerous.
Ed,Edd and Eddy @edbravo19
I think if Penn state would’ve kept their foot on the gas with their run game this game would’ve been over by half tbh
The Nittany Lions now have a date set with either No. 2 Georgia or No. 7 Notre Dame. Those two squads will battle it out in the Sugar Bowl on Wednesday.
No matter who Penn State gets, it will be a tough game, but the Nittany Lions showed on Tuesday that they have what it takes to make a championship run.
