It ultimately didn’t matter, but Penn State’s offense scuffled badly out of the gate against SMU. Drew Allar and company only mustered two first downs in their first four drives before finally wearing down an already-demoralized SMU defense. By the time they found the end zone on offense, the Nittany Lions were already up 14-0 thanks to two pick sixes.
Ashton Jeanty’s presence should, at the very least, allow Boise State to avoid the devastating turnovers that took SMU out of the game early. The Broncos have a top-20 rushing defense, but their pass defense is outside of the top 100, which puts the onus on Allar and offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki to exploit those favorable matchups. If Penn State wants to control this game, Allar will have to show up early in Arizona.
