Penn State relishes Fiesta Bowl win as Playoff charge continues: 'This is jubilation'

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The stench of cigar smoke hung in the air as the doors to Penn State’s locker room swung open. Players picked blue-and-white confetti off their uniforms as they longed Tuesday night to stay in this moment a little longer.

They snapped photos and posed with Fiesta Bowl signs after their 31-14 win over Boise State. They talked about heading in just a few days to Miami, where Penn State will take on 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 2025 began — a detail lost on most of the revelers here — these Nittany Lions had placed themselves two wins away from a national championship. This group, with quarterback Drew Allar, tight end Tyler Warren, a two-headed rushing attack and a suffocating defense that throttled Boise State and star running back Ashton Jeanty, is on a path that generations of Penn State players and fans have dreamed of.

Penn State football hasn’t won a national championship since 1986, and though the 12-team Playoff field changes a lot, realistically PSU hasn’t been in a similar position since it went undefeated and won the Rose Bowl in 1994, when it ended up getting snubbed by the polls and finishing the season ranked No. 2.

“This is jubilation,” said running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider, flanked by his backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen. “Happy New Year. We tell 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 have followed along with an unexpected Big Ten title game trip, a home Playoff game against SMU and a Fiesta Bowl bid, with Miami now ahead.

“It has 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’ve won in 1994 with Kerry (Collins) and all those guys. … As a former player and a proud alum I’m very happy about it.”

No matter how this season ends, Penn State proved it’s one of the four best teams in the sport. The favorable Playoff path was met by a team that demolished both opponents. Yes, Penn State was favored in both games, but it also deserves credit for not shrinking in those moments.

This isn’t just some Penn State team that can do one or two things well. There’s real credence to the idea that it has as good a chance as anyone in this wide-open field to win it all. It has posted 31 points or more in each of its past three games against Oregon, the Playoff’s top seed, 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 sustained what appeared to be an injury to his left shoulder.

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

As the confetti fell on the field afterward, Carter reached for the trophy with his right arm, keeping the left tightly by his side. Winston beamed and spoke in the locker room afterward about embracing his role, which is trying to keep the energy high on the sideline as he rehabs.

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

There is something special and something different about this group.

Seider, who has been with head coach James Franklin since 2018, said this team reminds him of the 2019 team. The Nittany Lions are young in some spots, with plenty of talent and superstar headliners, just like linebacker Micah Parsons was for that group. But, that group never got to live out its potential as the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season altered the roster.

“We got robbed of that,” Seider said. “But, if you look at this group three years ago when we recruited Drew, Nick, Kaytron, Abdul, Dani (Dennis-Sutton), like you knew this class had a chance to be special, and now they are playing to their potential, but they’re also playing together as a team. It’s evident. Nobody points fingers. … That’s what makes us a really good football team right now.”

As Seider spoke, Kaytron Allen leaned back at his locker, his number 13 jersey splashed with grass stains and the phone in his hands lighting up with congratulatory messages. For the first time in his career, the third-year back eclipsed 1,000 yards rushing. On a field across from the Heisman runner-up, the guy who Penn State teammates affectionately call by his childhood nickname Fatman sure looked more like Superman.

Allen ran with the hard-charging style that had the coaching staff enamored by him when they recruited him. His 17 carries for 134 yards continued a late-season surge where Penn State’s backs have been red hot. Singleton slammed the door on the Broncos with a 58-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Both backs averaged more than 7 yards per carry.

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

Across the locker room from Kotelnicki was Dennis-Sutton. The defensive end’s eyes looked just as intense at his locker stall as they were about an hour prior when his helmet popped off after being on the receiving end of a hands to the face penalty. It’s a look his teammates and coaches see every day from the player who works opposite Carter and whose value is every bit as critical.

How Penn State put this pass rushing duo together — both part of that coveted 2022 class — is one of its finest accomplishments. Dennis-Sutton stuffed Jeanty on the first play from scrimmage. He stood up and celebrated, knowing it was a tone-setter. Dennis-Sutton dropped Jeanty for a 2-yard loss on the second drive.

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

“I’m a physical defensive end,” Dennis-Sutton said. “I can do whatever on the field, whenever I want. … Our defense made a statement that we can stop the run no matter who is on the field. Whether we’re missing players or not, we can stop the run. When we’re rushing the passer, we can get to the quarterback.”

For all the holes that will try to be poked in Penn State’s Playoff resume in the next week-plus, the reality is this group does a lot of things well. In a season when it’s wide open, this team is the first to punch its ticket to the semifinals.

After the celebratory cigar smoke clears, the prep for the next round will quickly begin. Penn State’s players, coaches and fans wouldn’t have it any other way.

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

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