GLENDALE, Ariz. – The stench of cigar smoke hung in the air as the doors to the Penn State University locker room swung open. Players picked blue and white confetti from their jerseys, longing to linger in that moment a little longer on Tuesday night.

They took photos and posed with Fiesta Bowl signs after their 31-14 win over Boise State. They talked about traveling in a few days to Miami, where Penn State will play the winner of Georgia-Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff semifinals in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 9.

As midnight approached on the East Coast and the year 2025 began – a detail that had escaped most of the revelers here – these Nittany Lions had secured themselves two wins shy of a national championship. This group, featuring quarterback Drew Allar, tight end Tyler Warren, a two-headed rushing attack and a stifling defense that throttled Boise State and star running back Ashton Jeanty, is on a path dreamed of by generations of Penn State players and fans have.

Penn State football hasn’t won a national championship since 1986, and while the 12-team playoff field changes a lot, PSU realistically hasn’t been in a similar situation since going undefeated and winning the 1994 Rose Bowl when it ended was rejected by the polls and finished the season in second place.

“This is celebration,” said running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider, flanked by his backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen. “Happy New Year. We’re telling all these kids don’t take it for granted.”

Generations of fans in their 30s and younger have wondered what something like this postseason run might look and feel like. Fans of all ages followed with an unexpected trip to the Big Ten title, a home playoff game against SMU and a bid to the Fiesta Bowl, with Miami now on top.

“It’s been a long time,” former Penn State quarterback Todd Blackledge, the leader of the 1982 national championship team, said this month as he planned to watch this group from afar. “They probably should have won in 1994 with Kerry (Collins) and all those guys. … As a former player and proud graduate, I am very happy about this.”

No matter how this season ends, Penn State has proven that it is one of the four best teams in the sport. The favorable playoff path was handled by a team that destroyed both opponents. Yes, Penn State was the favorite in both games, but it also deserves credit for not backing down in those moments.

This isn’t just any Penn State team that does one or two things well. The idea that it has as good a chance as anyone in this vast field of winning it all is entirely believable. It has scored 31 points or more in each of its last three games against top playoff seed Oregon, SMU and Boise State. It just held the best running back in college football to 104 yards rushing, and did so without star defensive end Abdul Carter, whose status remains unclear after he apparently suffered a left shoulder injury.

Carter did not play in the second half on Tuesday because he winced on the sideline. He was met there by safety KJ Winston, who hasn’t played since suffering a season-ending injury in September.

As the confetti fell onto the field afterwards, Carter grabbed the trophy with his right arm and held his left arm tightly at his side. Winston beamed and then spoke in the locker room about how he is embracing his role, which is to keep the energy up on the sideline while he rehabs.

“If you had told me we would have had to do this without (Carter), I would have been really nervous,” defensive coordinator Tom Allen said. “Other guys had to step up. Amin (Vanover) stepped up when Abdul was out and that’s what this team is all about.”

There is something special and different about this group.

Seider, who has worked with head coach James Franklin since 2018, said this team reminds him of the 2019 team. The Nittany Lions are young in some ways, with a lot of talent and superstar headliners, just like linebacker Micah Parsons is for this group. However, this group was never able to reach its potential as the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season changed the roster.

“That was stolen from us,” said Seider. “But when you look at this group three years ago when we recruited Drew, Nick, Kaytron, Abdul, Dani (Dennis-Sutton), you knew this class had a chance to be special and now they’re taking advantage of it Potential, but they also play together as a team. It’s obvious. Nobody points the finger. … That’s what makes us a really good football team right now.”

As Seider spoke, Kaytron Allen leaned back against his locker, his No. 13 jersey spattered with grass stains and the phone in his hands glowing with congratulatory messages. For the first time in his career, the third-year player eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark. On a field opposite the Heisman runner-up, the guy Penn State teammates affectionately call by his childhood nickname Fatman sure looked more like Superman.

Allen ran with the energetic style that made the coaching staff fall in love with him when he was recruited. His 17 carries for 134 yards continued a late-season surge that had Penn State’s backs red hot. Singleton slammed the door on the Broncos with a 58-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Both backs averaged over 7 yards per carry.

“Being able to rely on the running game at that (late) point in the game when you’re wearing down the opponent is a big thing,” offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki said. “That’s what winning football teams do. … Championship teams have good line play on both sides of the ball.”

Dennis-Sutton sat across from Kotelnicki in the locker room. The defensive player’s eyes looked just as intently at his locker room as they had an hour or so earlier when his helmet came off after he took a hands-to-the-face penalty. It’s a look his teammates and coaches see every day from the player who works alongside Carter and whose value is just as crucial.

How Penn State assembled this pass-rushing duo — both part of the coveted 2022 class — is one of their greatest accomplishments. Dennis-Sutton stuffed Jeanty on the first play from scrimmage. He stood up and celebrated, knowing he was calling the shots. Dennis-Sutton dropped Jeanty for a 2-yard loss on the second drive.

Dennis-Sutton took over the game and finished the game with six tackles, a sack and 2.5 tackles for a loss.

“I’m a physical defensive end,” Dennis-Sutton said. “I can do anything on the field whenever I want. … Our defense has stated that we can stop the run no matter who is on the field. Whether we are missing players or not, we can stop the run. If we rush the passer, we can get to the quarterback.”

For all the holes that will be attempted to be filled in Penn State’s playoff resumption next week and more, the reality is that this group does a lot of things well. In a season that is still open, this team is the first to book their ticket to the semi-finals.

After the celebratory cigar smoke has cleared, preparations for the next round quickly begin. Penn State players, coaches and fans wouldn’t have it any other way.

“We start 2025 around midnight (Thursday) trying to figure out who we’re playing,” Kotelnicki said. “Happy New Year.”

(Photo by Dani Dennis-Sutton and Amin Vanoverby: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)