UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 6 seed Penn State will face No. 3 seed Boise State in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal game in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl on Tuesday, Dec. 31 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.

HISTORY OF THE SERIES: For the first time in program history, Penn State will face Boise State. The Nittany Lions are 5-0 against current members of the Mountain West. Penn State’s last game against a Mountain West member was a 37-21 win over San Diego State in 2015.

FRANKLIN RECEIVES 100TH WIN AT PENN STATE: Head coach James Franklin earned his 100th win at Penn State in the Nittany Lions’ 38-10 victory over SMU. Franklin reached 100 wins in 141 games at Penn State. He is one of seven current FBS coaches with over 100 wins at their current school, joining Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz (204), Clemson’s Dabo Swinney (179), Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy (169), and Kyle Whittingham (167). Utah and Air Force’s Troy Calhoun (135) and Georgia’s Kirby Smart (104). Among current FBS coaches with more than 100 wins at their current school, Franklin was third fastest to 100 wins, behind only Smart (117) and Swinney (129).

PICK SIXES: Penn State’s defense threw three interceptions against SMU and returned two touchdowns. Dominic DeLuca picked up a pass in the first quarter and returned it 23 yards for a touchdown, his second pick-six of his career. He added an interception in the second quarter, becoming the 15th Nittany Lion to record two interceptions in a bowl/CFP game. In the second quarter, Tony Rojas intercepted a pass and returned it 59 yards for a score. Rojas’ 59-yard return is Penn State’s longest interception return for a touchdown in a bowl/CFP game. Penn State returned two interceptions for touchdowns in the same game for the first time since 1998 against Michigan State.

THE OPPOSITION: Boise State is the No. 3 seed in the College Football Playoff and earned a first-round bye to the VRBO Fiesta Bowl. The Broncos are 12-1 overall and have won the Mountain West. Boise State earned a 21-7 victory over UNLV in the Mountain West Championship Game. Heisman Trophy runner-up Ashton Jeanty ran for 209 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown run.

BY THE NUMBERS

33 – Penn State had 33 wins last year three seasons (2022-24). PSU has recently won 33 games a span of three seasons in 1971–73 (33).

8. – Penn State will make its eighth appearance in the Fiesta Bowl. the most appearances PSU has made in a bowl game.

7-0 – The Nittany Lions are 7-0 in their previous Fiesta Bowl appearances, including a 35-28 win over Washington in 2017.

4 – After pick-sixes from Dominic DeLuca and Tony Rojas, Penn State has four interception returns for touchdowns this season.

BOISE STATE SCOUTING REPORT

• Spencer Danielson is in his first full season as head coach at Boise State after a three-week stint as interim head coach in 2023.
• He is 15-2 as head coach at Boise State and has led the Broncos to two wins in the Mountain West Championship Game.
• In 2023, he led the Broncos to three wins, including a win over UNLV in the Mountain West title game.
• After seven seasons at Boise State, he was named head coach.
• Boise State is 12-1 overall and took a 7-0 lead in the Mountain West.
• The Broncos entered the College Football Playoff ranked No. 9 in the CFP rankings and No. 3 in the rankings.
• Boise State defeated UNLV 21-7 in the Mountain West championship game.
• In the MWC Championship, RB Ashton Jeanty rushed for 209 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown.
• Offensively, Boise State ranks third nationally in scoring (39.1), sixth in total offense (470.2) and fifth in rushing offense (250.5).
• Jeanty was recognized as a Unanimous Consensus All-American, the first in Boise State history. He was also a Maxwell Award winner and a runner-up for the Heisman Trophy.
• Jeanty’s 2,497 rushing yards this season are fourth in FBS single-season history. He has 29 rushing touchdowns, ranks first in the nation and leads the nation in all-purpose yards (2,613).
• He rushed for 1,889 yards after contact and forced 143 missed tackles.
• Boise State’s defense ranks 36th nationally in scoring defense (21.9) and 61st in total defense (361.9).
• The Broncos rank second nationally in sacks per game (3.92).
• Edge Jayden Virgin-Morgan leads Boise State with 15.5 tackles and 10 sacks.

SMU NOTES

• Penn State is now 2-0-1 against SMU.
• The Nittany Lions are 11-6 in Penn State White Out games with a full stadium, including six straight wins.
• Penn State is 6-2 when wearing its Generations of Greatness uniforms.
• Penn State earned its first win in a College Football Playoff game and improved to 32-20-2 all-time in postseason play (Bowls + CFP).
• Head coach James Franklin earned his 100th win at Penn State.
• Penn State reached twelve wins in a season for the fourth time in program history, joining the 1973, 1986 and 1994 seasons.
• The Nittany Lions won eleven games in a season for the first time under Franklin.
• L.B Dominic DeLuca intercepted a pass and returned it 23 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter. He added another interception in the second quarter.
• L.B Tony Rojas intercepted a pass and returned it 59 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. Rojas’ 59-yard return for a touchdown is Penn State’s longest interception return for a touchdown in a bowl/CFP game.
• Penn State returned two interceptions for touchdowns in the same game (David Macklin, 55 yards; Anthony King, 25 yards) for the first time since 1998 against Michigan State.
• Penn State has returned four interceptions for touchdowns this season.
• The last time Penn State had four interceptions for touchdowns in a season was 1998 (LaVar Arrington, 16 yards vs. Bowling Green; Joe Dawkins, 30 yards; David Macklin, 55 yards vs. Michigan State; Anthony King, 25 yards vs. Michigan ). Condition).

PENN STATE GETS 55TH AFTER-SEASON APPEARANCE

• Penn State is making its 55th postseason appearance, including bowl and CFP appearances, ranking ninth all-time.
• Head coach James Franklin has led his teams to a postseason appearance 13 times (3 times at Vanderbilt, 10 times at Penn State).
• With 32 postseason wins (Bowl and CFP), Penn State ranks fourth nationally and leads all Big Ten schools.
• With a winning percentage of 61.1 in postseason games (Bowl and CFP, record 32-20-2), the Nittany Lions rank eighth nationally among teams with at least 20 bowl appearances.
• Penn State has appeared in 16 different bowl games and each of the New Year’s Six bowls.
• Penn State made its first postseason appearance in 1923, traveling across the country to face USC in the Rose Bowl Game to round out the 1922 season.

PENN STATE IN THE FIESTA BOWL

• Penn State has a 7-0 record in seven previous Fiesta Bowl appearances.
• Penn State took seventh (1977; Arizona State), 10th (1980; Ohio State), 11th (1982; USC), 16th (1987; Miami), 21st (1992; Tennessee), 26th (1997; Texas) and 47th place (2017; Washington) editions of the game.
• Penn State’s seven Fiesta Bowl appearances are the most of any bowl in program history.
• Only Ohio State (9; 5-4) has appeared in the Fiesta Bowl more times than Penn State, while Arizona State (5-1) and Nebraska (2-4) have six appearances.
• The 1977 Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State was the only bowl game Penn State played against a Big Ten team. Penn State joined the Big Ten in 1993.
• The 1982 Fiesta Bowl between Penn State and USC was the first to be played on New Year’s Day.
• The Nittany Lions won their second National Championship at the 1987 Fiesta Bowl against Miami (Florida) in one of the most memorable National Championship games of all time. The No. 2 Nittany Lions intercepted Heisman winner Vinny Testaverde five times to secure their second 12-0 season.
• The 2017 Fiesta Bowl against Washington featured a 92-yard touchdown run by Saquon Barkley and 342 passing yards and two touchdowns by Trace McSorley as the Nittany Lions never trailed in the game.