Maybe it’s just not going to happen this season. Maybe Penn State is never going to play a complete 60-minute game.

But maybe, just maybe, these Nittany Lions won’t have to do that to complete their primary goal.

Penn State turned in another uneven performance in Tuesday’s Fiesta Bowl, but the best parts were better … and the other parts weren’t as bad, allowing the Lions to cruise to a mostly comfortable 31-14 win over Boise State and advance to the national semifinals.

In the middle two quarters, the Lions’ offense was hamstrung by penalties and mystifying third-down playcalling, and a defense that was missing Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Abdul Carter allowed the Boise State passing attack to move the ball up and down the field.

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With all due respect to Abdul Carter and Jaylen Reed, the strength of Penn State’s sensational defense throughout the (exceedingly longer) 2024 season has been its balance, its depth, its collective skill and power. There are very few, if any, weak links in the chain, and the way the Nittany Lions are playing together on that side of the ball in the ultimate team sport has brought them here, where they are one of the last eight teams standing.

It should also serve them well against a singular offensive weapon the likes of which this program hasn’t seen in several years.

Boise State, which entertains Penn State on New Year’s Eve, is led by tailback Ashton Jeanty, who in most seasons would have entered this game as the reigning Heisman Trophy winner if not for the diverse skill set of another singular talent, Colorado’s Travis Hunter. The Jacksonville, Florida, native leads the nation in carries (344), rushing yards (2,497), and rushing touchdowns (29), and he has put up a mind-boggling 5,505 yards from scrimmage over 39 games over the last three seasons.

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True to his nature, Penn State OC Andy Kotelnicki pulled-apart then contracted the Hoberman Sphere in the blink of an eye for a gift TD near the goal line.

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While Penn State’s first playoff game might’ve lacked some anticipated offensive fireworks, there were still a handful of very intriguing plays that caught the eye of us football sickos.

For me, personally, a pre snap movement that Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki plucked out from deeeeep in the vault brought a holiday smile to my face. Let’s take a look at Kaytron Allen’s early 4^th quarter touchdown…more specifically, how Kotelnicki used the Picket Fence Shift to gain a gap and create a walk-in score.

PLAY ON DIGITAL TAPE (until the corporate Grinch at Veritone blocks it…so hurry up and press play!):

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The fans did their job. Considering the cold, and the approaching holiday, and the short-ish turnaround, and the optimists who decided to save their money for Glendale, and the students on break, the (cough) announced 106,013 who came to Beaver Stadium for Penn State’s first playoff game created the type of game-tilting atmosphere they have become known for, forcing several false starts on a heretofore potent SMU offense and helping to keep the Mustangs off-kilter for most of the afternoon.

Not to the extent that the Penn State defense did, though.

That unit dominated during the Nittany Lions’ 38-10 victory, and it is the chief reason why Penn State is not only moving on in the first 12-team tournament but why it is capable of being the last one standing.

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