GLENDALE, Arizona — Heartbreak in the desert, as the Boise State Broncos lose the Fiesta Bowl for the first time against the Penn State Nittany Lions, with a final score of 31 to 14.
Penn State defenders clogged every hole, stretched out every outside run, closed with ferocity.
Everywhere that Ashton Jeanty turned, he ran into Nittany Lions. The Heisman Trophy runner-up still went over 100 yards, but he sure had to work for it.
Drew Allar threw three touchdown passes and No. 5 Penn State bottled up Jeanty for a 31-14 win over No. 8 Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl on Tuesday night, earning a spot in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
"We knew who we were going against. We knew we had to have hats to the ball every single play because every play he could break one," said Penn State safety Zakee Wheatley, who had an interception and recovered a fumble. "We did that the whole game."
The Nittany Lions (13-2, CFP No. 6 seed) opened their first CFP berth with a blowout win over SMU and appeared headed toward the latest lopsided victory in the new 12-team format by jumping out to a 14-0 lead against Boise State.
But the Broncos (12-2, CFP No. 3 seed) have relished the role of underdog, going back to when their brand went national in the electrifying 2007 Fiesta Bowl, and they had an answer.
Boise State galloped back from the early deficit, trimming the margin to 17-14 early in the third quarter, momentum seemingly on its side.
And then Penn State turned the tide for good.
Allar threw his second touchdown pass of the night to John Mackey Award winner Tyler Warren, and Nick Singleton burst up the middle for a 58-yard TD run, sending the Nittany Lions to the Jan. 9 Orange Bowl against No. 2 Georgia or No. 3 Notre Dame.
"We played a complete game," Penn State coach James Franklin said. "Our offense, defense and special teams, we played complementary football, did some special things."
Penn State did it by controlling the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball most of the night and hounding Jeanty at every turn.
The AP first-team All-America selection finished with a season-low 104 yards on 30 carries, just 3.5 yards per carry — half his season averaged. Jeanty finished 27 yards short of Barry Sanders' single-season NCAA record set in 1988 at Oklahoma State.
"They have a great D-line, front seven," Jeanty said. "It wasn't really extraordinary. The executed, they tackled and we didn't play our best."
Penn State's defense was dominant most of the night, but its offense was just as good, particularly on the ground.
The Nittany Lions ran for 216 yards, including 134 by Kaytron Allen and 87 by Singleton. Allar was steady after facing criticism most of the season, throwing for 171 yards on 13-of-25 passing.
He was particularly sharp early, finding Warren in the back of the end zone for an 11-yard touchdown, then Omari Evans in stride for a 38-yard score for a two-touchdown lead.
"Being 14-0, that isn't something anybody really wants to be in," Boise State coach Spencer Danielson said.
The Broncos, as they always seem to, fought back to give themselves a chance.
Boise State got back in it by getting pressure on Allar, putting a halt to Penn State's marches down the field, and got a huge momentum boost when Allar fumbled two plays after Jeanty lost his third fumble of the season.
With Jeanty surrounded on nearly every play, Boise State turned to Tyler Crowe and the fullback took several Nittany Lions with him for an 8-yard touchdown run that cut Penn State's lead in half. The comeback seemed to still be in reach with Matt Lauter's 53-yard TD catch in the third quarter, but the Broncos ran out of answers after that.
Maddux Madsen threw three interceptions and Jonah Dalmas missed his second field goal attempt, leaving the Broncos short of the CFP semifinals.
"A lot of people counted us out and we came up a couple plays short," Danielson said.
UP NEXT
Penn State will play No. 2 Georgia or No. 3 Notre Dame in the Jan. 9 Orange Bowl.
Boise State opens the 2025 season Aug. 30 at South Florida.
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Read below for minute-by-minute updates of the game.
FIRST QUARTER:
(COIN TOSS) HEADS PENN STATE WON THE TOSS TO DEFER.
(10:41) BSU K JONAH DALMAS MISSES 45-YARD FG LEFT. TURNOVER ON DOWNS.
(6:40) PSU QB DREW ALLAR 11-YARD TD PASS TO TE TYLER WARREN. PAT GOOD. 0-7.
(4:56) BSU P JAMES FERGUSON-REYNOLDS 43-YARD PUNT. FAIR CATCH PSU ZION TRACY.
(3:35) PSU QB DREW ALLAR 38-YARD TD PASS TO WR OMARI EVANS. PAT GOOD. 0-14.
(2:12) BSU RB ASHTON JEANTY FUMBLE RECOVERED BY PSU S ZAKEE WHEATLEY.
(1:51) PSU QB DREW ALLAR FUMBLE RECOVERED BY BSU S SEYI OLADIPO.
END OF FIRST
SECOND QUARTER:
(14:52) BSU P JAMES FERGUSON-REYNOLDS 42-YARD PUNT. FAIR CATCH PSU ZION TRACY.
(13:02) PSU P RILEY THOMPSON 54-YARD PUNT. RETURNED 19 YARDS BY BSU COOPER JONES.
(8:41) BSU RB TYLER CROWE 8-YARD TD RUN. PAT GOOD. 7-14.
(5:21) PSU P RILEY THOMPSON 33-YARD PUNT OUT OF BOUNDS.
(4:23) BSU P JAMES FERGUSON-REYNOLDS 38-YARD PUNT. FAIR CATCH PSU ZION TRACY.
(1:45) PSU P RILEY THOMPSON 63-YARD PUNT. TOUCHBACK.
(1:05) BSU P JAMES FERGUSON-REYNOLDS 40-YARD PUNT. FAIR CATCH ZION TRACY.
(0:03) PSU K RYAN BARKER 40-YARD FG GOOD. 7-17.
END OF HALF
THIRD QUARTER:
(14:06) PSU P RILEY THOMPSON 54-YARD PUNT. FAIR CATCH BY COOPER JONES.
(11:38) BSU QB MADDUX MADSEN 53-YARD TD PASS TO TE MATT LAUTER. PAT GOOD. 14-17.
(7:22) PSU QB DREW ALLAR 13-YARD TD PASS TO TE TYLER WARREN. PAT GOOD. 14-24.
END OF THIRD
FOURTH QUARTER:
(14:48) BSU QB MADDUX MADSEN PASS INTERCEPTED BY PSU S ZAKEE WHEATLEY RETURNED FOR 28 YARDS.
(13:32) PSU P RILEY THOMPSON 41-YARD PUNTL. FAIR CATCH BSU COOPER JONES.
(9:20) BSU K JONAH DALMAS MISSES 38-YARD FG RIGHT. TURNOVER ON DOWNS.
(7:45) - PENN STATE TOUCHDOWN. PENN STATE LEADS 31-14.
(4:42) FLAG. PENN STATE CALLED FOR PASS INTERFERENCE.
(4:00) INJURY TIMEOUT FOR PENN STATE'S DANI DENNIS SUTTON.
(3:40) BOISE STATE'S MADDUX MADSEN INTERCEPTED BY PENN STATE'S ZION TRACY.
(3:31) BOISE STATE TIMEOUT.
(3:26) BOISE STATE CALLS THEIR SECOND TIMEOUT OF THE HALF.
(3:22) BOISE STATE CALLS THEIR THIRD AND FINAL TIMEOUT OF THE HALF.
(3:22) PENN STATE DELAY OF GAME. PUNT. BOISE STATE FAIR CATCH INSIDE OF THEIR OWN 10-YARD LINE.
(2:00) FOURTH QUARTER TWO-MINUTE TIME OUT.
(1:55) BOISE STATE'S ASHTON JEANTY STOPPED AT THE LINE OF SCRIMMAGE. THIRD DOWN.
(1:28) BOISE STATE ILLEGAL FORMATION. FOUR MEN IN THE BACKFIELD. FIVE YARD PENALTY, THIRD DOWN.
(0:46) PENN STATE TIMEOUT.
(0:44) 5 YARD SWING PASS TO BOISE STATE'S LATRELL CAPLES.
(0:30) BOISE STATE'S ASHTON JEANTY RETURNS TO THE SIDELINE.
(:22) MADDUX MADSEN LAUNCHES A PASS TO THE ENDZONE. INTERCEPTED BY PENN STATE.
PENN STATE WINS 31 TO 14.
END OF GAME
The Boise State Broncos are in Scottsdale, Arizona for their game against Penn State in the 2024 Fiesta Bowl. The game is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. MST — our team of reporters will bring you the latest updates from the game.
