GLENDALE, Ariz. — Tyler Warren caught two touchdowns and No. 6 seed Penn State limited Ashton Jeanty to a season-low 104 yards on 30 carries in a 31-14 win over No. 3 seed Boise State on Tuesday in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal game at the Fiesta Bowl.
Jeanty finished the season with 2,601 yards, falling just short of breaking Barry Sanders’ FBS-record 2,628 yards set in 1988 with Oklahoma State. Jeanty fumbled twice on Tuesday, losing one of them.
Penn State (13-2) advances to the semifinal round in the Orange Bowl at Miami Gardens, Fla., on Jan. 9. The Nittany Lions will play either No. 2 seed Georgia or No. 7 seed Notre Dame, who face off in the Sugar Bowl on Wednesday.
Drew Allar completed 13 of 25 passes for 171 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions for Penn State. Kaytron Allen rushed for 134 yards on 17 carries, and Nicholas Singleton busted free for a 58-yard touchdown run to seal the Nittany Lions’ win with 4:54 left.
Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter, the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, did not play in the second half after sustaining an undisclosed injury early in the second quarter.
Boise State scored on its first possession of the second half after trailing 17-7 at halftime.
Maddux Madsen completed all three of his passes, including a 53-yard scoring connection with Matt Lauter with 11:38 left in the third quarter.
Madsen finished 23 of 35 for 304 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions for the Broncos (12-2).
The Nittany Lions then went 75 yards in 11 plays, with Allar completing a 13-yard touchdown pass to Warren for a 24-14 lead with 7:22 left in the third quarter.
Boise State squandered a chance to pull within a possession when Jonah Dalmas missed a 38-yard field-goal attempt wide right with 9:20 to play in the game. Dalmas also missed from 45 yards on the game’s first possession.
Madsen was intercepted on each of the Broncos’ final two drives following Singleton’s dagger run.
Penn State scored on its first two possessions to spring ahead 14-0. Allar found Warren from 11 yards out for the game’s first score before connecting with Omari Evans for 38 yards with 3:35 left in the first quarter.
Tyler Crowe’s 8-yard touchdown run cut the lead to 14-7 with 8:41 left in the second quarter, but Ryan Barker drilled a 40-yard field goal for the Nittany Lions on the half’s final snap.
–Javier Morales, Field Level Media
