By Missy Grimes

Saturday, December 21, 2024 – 11 a.m. CT
[11] SMU (11-2, 8-0 ACC) at [6] Penn State (11-2, 8-1 Big Ten)
Beaver Stadium – University Park, Pa.
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SETTING THE SCENE
• Eleventh-seeded SMU is set to make its College Football Playoff debut when it faces six-seed Penn State at Beaver Stadium on Saturday at 11 a.m. on TNT.
• The Mustangs earned their first ever bid to the CFP by earning an at-large selection and the 11th seed during the playoff’s first year with a 12-team format.
• SMU enters the contest at 11-2 and ranked No. 10 in the nation. The Mustangs have rose as high as seventh this season, the program’s highest ranking since 1985.
• SMU has won its last 10 road games, second-longest active streak in all of the FBS behind only fifth-seeded Texas.
• The Mustangs have forced at least one turnover in nine of the past 12 games and in 19 of the past 23 contests.
• SMU orchestrated a furious fourth-quarter comeback during the ACC Championship versus Clemson to tie the game with under a minute remaining in the game. However, the Tigers nailed an ACC Championship Game-record 56-yard field goal as time expired to take the conference crown.
• SMU’s 8-0 season in conference play is a first for a team jumping into a Power-4/5 conference from a Group of Five in their first season since 1978. Of those teams, only Louisville (2014) finished with a winning conference record, going 5-3 in ACC play.

QUICK HITS
• SMU’s defense has continued to force turnovers this year, ranking 26th in the country with 21 turnovers gained, along with being fifth in defensive touchdowns with four.
• The Mustangs have had at least seven receivers catch a pass in 27 of the past 30 games.
• Brashard Smith has made an impact in 2024, ranking eighth in all-purpose yards per game with 139.54 and 11th in total touchdowns (18), resulting in being named a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award. Smith has also scored 112 points this season, which ranks 15th in the nation. The senior is just 29 yards shy of breaking the SMU single-season all-purpose yards record.
• Collin Rogers has tallied 23 field goals this season, which is third in the nation. He leads the nation in made field goals over 50 yards with seven, one shy of the NCAA single season record of eight set by Tennessee’s Fuad Reveiz in 1982, leading to being selected as a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award, he also was named a First Team All-America by Sports Illustrated.
• Kevin Jennings sits 10th nationally in passing yards per attempt (8.87) and 13th in passing efficiency (156.9).
• Jennings has the highest passer efficiency rating in conference games only in the ACC at 171.5.
• SMU’s 54 wins in the last six years are the most by any FBS Texas team. In addition, the Mustangs have won 24 of those on the road, tops for any team in the state since 2019.
• The Mustangs are 20-3 in their last 23 games, and 19-2 in their last 21 regular-season contests.
• Rhett Lashlee boasts a 21-3 conference record in his career. His 21-3 record in his first 24 league games on the Hilltop is the best in SMU history.
• SMU has posted a record of 26-2 during Lashlee’s three seasons in charge when they score 30 or more points in a game.

THE SERIES
• This is the third meeting all time, with Penn State holding a 1-0-1 advantage in the series.
• Penn State took the matchup in 1978 at home, while the two programs tied 13-13 in the 1947 Cotton Bowl in Dallas.

ABOUT THE NITTANY LIONS
• Penn State enters the game at 11-2 overall and 8-1 in the Big 10.
• The Nittany Lions’ comeback fell short during the Big 10 Championship against top-ranked Oregon, losing 45-37.
• PSU is 1-2 against ranked opponents this season, with the win coming over No. 19 Illinois in Happy Valley on Sept. 28.

LET’S TAKE THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD
• SMU’s 10-game current road winning streak is second-longest active streak in college football and longest in program history since a 13-game streak from Sept. 26, 1981 to Sept. 15, 1984.
• SMU has averaged 35 points per game during the streak.
• The Mustangs have scored at least 26 points in all 10 road wins dating back to 2023.

CURRENT 10-GAME ROAD WINNING STREAK 
Oct. 12, 2023    W, 31-10    at ECU (1)
Oct. 20, 2023    W, 55-0    at Temple (2)
Nov. 4, 2023        W, 36-31    at Rice (3)
Nov. 18, 2023    W, 38-34    at Memphis (4)
Dec. 2, 2023        W, 26-14    at Tulane (5)
Aug. 24, 2024    W, 29-24    at Nevada (6)
Oct. 5, 2024        W, 34-27    at No. 22 Louisville (7)
Oct. 19, 2024    W, 40-10    at Stanford (8)
Oct. 26, 2024    W, 28-27(OT)    at Duke (9)
Nov. 23, 2024    W, 33-7    at Virginia (10)

LEVELED UP 
• The Mustangs continue to be a dominant force in conference games for a second straight season.
• SMU won conference games by a score of 37.62-18.25, an average of 19.37.
• The 19.37 average margin of victory is the third highest for any P4 team in the country, behind Indiana (23.11) and Oregon (20.0)
• Only the Ducks and the Mustangs went unbeaten in conference play amongst P4 teams in 2024.

SAME PONY, NEW EXPRESS
• The Mustangs have put together one of the best two-seasons run in the program’s history in 2023 and 2024.
• For the first time ever, the Mustangs have put together back-to-back seasons with at least 11 wins.
• During the run, SMU went a perfect 16-0 in conference play in two different conferences (AAC in 2023 and ACC in 2024).

PLAYOFFS, WE’RE TALKING PLAYOFFS
• SMU made its debut in the first set of the 2024 CFP rankings on Nov. 6, coming in at No. 13.
• The Mustangs were ranked 10th in the final edition of the CFP rankings, good enough to earn an at-large bid to mark the program’s first ever appearance in the CFP.

MUSTANG HISTORY IN THE CFP RANKINGS
Year    Date        Ranking
2019    Nov. 5        25
2019    Nov. 19        25
2023    Dec. 3        24
2024    Nov. 5        13
2024    Nov. 12        14
2024    Nov. 19        13
2024    Nov. 26        9
2024    Dec. 3        8
2024    Dec. 8        10

HIGH ACCOLADES FOR THE HEAD MAN 
• Head coach Rhett Lashlee has led the Mustangs to new heights this season and has picked up accolades in the process.
• Lashlee was named ACC Coach of the Year after leading SMU to the conference championship game in its first season in the conference.
• He also was named the DCTF Coach of the Year, and a finalist Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award.

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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 6 seed Penn State takes on No. 11 seed SMU in a College Football Playoff First Round game at Beaver Stadium on Saturday, December 21. Kickoff is set for noon on TNT/MAX.

SERIES HISTORY: Penn State meets SMU for the third time in program history and the second time in a postseason game. The Nittany Lions and Mustangs tied 13-13 in the 1948 Cotton Bowl. In the last matchup, in 1978, Penn State won 26-21. Matt Bahr hit four field goals, all in the first half, while Scott Fitzkee scored on a 16-yard reception and Matt Suhey found the end zone on a 3-yard run.

CARTER, WARREN COLLECT ALL-AMERICA HONORS: Defensive end Abdul Carter and tight end Tyler Warren became Penn State’s 103rd and 104th players to selected as a first-team All-American by an NCAA-recognized outlet. With first-team honors by the AFCA, Associated Press and Walter Camp Football Foundation, Carter has qualified to be Penn State’s 45th consensus All-American. Warren earned second-team accolades by the AFCA, AP and Walter Camp Football Foundation. Under head coach James Franklin, PSU has earned 18 All-American selections by 16 players and has multiple All-American selections in each of the last four seasons.

WARREN WINS MACKEY AWARD: Tyler Warren was announced as the John Mackey Award winner, the first Nittany Lion to ever win the award. The Mackey Award recognizes the top tight end in college football. Among FBS tight ends in 2024, Warren is tied for first in total touchdowns (10; 1st in Power Four) and ranks second in receiving yards (1,062; 1st), receiving yards per game (81.7; 1st) and yards per reception (12.1; 1st, min. 70 catches) and third in receptions (88; 1st). He owns PSU tight end career records for receptions (137), receiving yards (1,668), receiving touchdowns (17) and 100-yard receiving games (5) and PSU and Big Ten tight end season records for receptions (88) and receiving yards (1,062).

THE OPPOSITION: SMU enters the College Football Playoff as the No. 11 seed with an 11-2 overall record. The Mustangs went 8-0 in the ACC and fell 34-31 against Clemson in the ACC Championship. Kevin Jennings threw for 304 yards and three touchdowns, while adding a rushing touchdown. Brashard Smith added 113 rushing yards.

BY THE NUMBERS

1,062 – Warren broke the Big Ten tight end season record with 1,062 receiving yards.

45th – With first-team All-America selections by the AFCA, AP and Walter Camp Football Foundation, Abdul Carter has qualified to be PSU’s 45th consensus All-American.

Top 12 – Penn State finished in the Top 12 of the CFP rankings for the seventh time, tied fourth-most among FBS teams.

1st – Tyler Warren became Penn State’s first winnerof the Mackey Award, while Nick Dawkins is PSU’s first recipient of the Wuerffel Trophy.

SMU SCOUTING REPORT

• Rhett Lashlee is in his third season as head coach at SMU.
• He owns a 29-11 record at SMU and was named ACC Coach of the Year in 2024.
• In his first two seasons at SMU, Lashlee led the Mustangs to the New Mexico Bowl in 2022 and the Fenway Bowl in 2023.
• SMU is 11-2 overall and went 8-0 in the ACC.
• In their first season as a member of the ACC, the Mustangs reached the conference championship game, falling 34-31 against Clemson.
• SMU rallied back from a 24-7 halftime deficit to tie the game at 31-31 with 16 seconds left.
• Kevin Jennings threw for 304 yards and three touchdowns, while adding a rushing touchdown.
• SMU ranks sixth in the country in scoring offense (38.5) and 20th in total offense (443.1).
• Jennings has completed 66 percent of his passes for 3,050 yards and 22 touchdowns, while adding five rushing scores.
• RB Brashard Smith, an AFCA All-America second-team and All-ACC first-team selection, owns 1,270 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns.
• The Mustangs rank 28th in the country in scoring defense (20.8), 28th in total defense (326.1) and fourth in rushing defense (93.4).
• They are also fifth in the nation with five defensive touchdowns and 11th in sacks per game (3.08).
• DT Jared Harrison-Hunte and S Isaiah Nwokobia were tabbed first-team All-ACC.
• Harrison-Hunte owns eight tackles for loss and six sacks this season.
• Nwokobia has tallied 96 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, three interceptions and three pass breakups.
• LB Kobe Wilson leads the team with 110 tackles to go with six tackles for loss and three sacks.

OREGON NOTES

• Penn State is now 3-2 all-time against Oregon.
• Penn State is 1-1 in Big Ten Championship Games.
• The Nittany Lions are 4-13 all-time against opponents ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll.
• In the first half, Penn State and Oregon broke the Big Ten Championship game record with a combined 55 points, bettering the 52 points by Nebraska and Wisconsin in 2012.
• Penn State’s 6 play, 97-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter is the longest scoring drive in Big Ten Championship game history based on yards.
• The 82 combined points for Penn State and Oregon are the second-most in a Big Ten Championship game behind the 101 points by Wisconsin and Nebraska in 2012.
• The Nittany Lions gained 518 total yards. Oregon entered the game allowing 283.8 total yards per game.
• The Nittany Lions rushed for 292 yards. Oregon entered the game allowing 112.3 rushing yards per game.
• RB Kaytron Allen (124) and RB Nicholas Singleton (105) both rushed for over 100 yards in the same game for the third time in their career.
• On a 7-yard catch in the first quarter, TE Tyler Warren broke the Big Ten record for season receiving yards by a tight end, topping Wisconsin’s Travis Beckum’s 982 receiving yards in in 2007.
• On a 28-yard reception in the first quarter, Warren became the fifth Nittany Lion (seventh occasion) to go over 1,000 receiving yards in a season.

PENN STATE EARNS 54TH POSTSEASON APPEARANCE

• Penn State is making its 54th postseason appearance, including bowl and playoff appearances, tied-ninth all-time.
• Head Coach James Franklin has guided his teams to a postseason appearance 13 times (3 at Vanderbilt; 10 at Penn State).
• Penn State’s 31 bowl victories are tied-fourth nationally and lead all Big Ten schools.
• The Nittany Lions’ 60.4 winning percentage in bowl games (31-20-2 record) is No. 9 nationally among teams with at least 20 bowl appearances.
• Penn State has played in 16 different bowl games and has played in each of the New Year’s Six bowls.
• Penn State made its first postseason appearance in 1923 when it traveled across the country to face USC in the Rose Bowl Game to cap off the 1922 season.

WARREN EARNS MACKEY AWARD, HEISMAN VOTES

• Penn State senior tight end Tyler Warren became the Nittany Lions’ first ever recipient of the John Mackey Award, given to the nation’s top tight end.
• He also finished seventh in the Heisman Trophy voting, the highest finish by any FBS tight end since Notre Dame’s Ken MacAfee in 1977.
• Since 1942, Warren is one of seven tight ends to finish among the Heisman Top 7, joining UCLA’s Burr Baldwin (7th; 1946), Stanford’s Bill McColl (4th; 1951), Navy’s Ron Beagle (7th; 1955), Michigan’s Ron Kramer (6th; 1956), Wisconsin’s Pat Richter (6th; 1962), Penn State’s Ted Kwalick (4th; 1968) and Notre Dame’s Ken MacAfee (3rd; 1977).
• Among FBS tight ends in 2024, Warren is tied for first in total touchdowns (10; 1st in Power Four) and ranks second in receiving yards (1,062; 1st), receiving yards per game (81.7; 1st) and yards per reception (12.1; 1st, min. 70 catches), third in receptions (88; 1st) and 100-yard receiving games (4; 2nd) and tied for fourth in receiving touchdowns (6; T-1st).
• He ranks second among FBS tight ends with 30 receptions of 15+ yards this season and ranks first in percentage of catches for first downs (66%) among FBS tight ends with 55+ catches.
• Warren ranks first among FBS tight ends with 14 red zone receptions, while ranking second in 10+ yard receptions (47; 1st in P4) and third in 25+ yard receptions (9; t-1st).
• Warren has set Penn State career tight end records for receptions (137), receiving yards (1,668), receiving touchdowns (17) and 100-yard receiving games (5).
• He owns Penn State and Big Ten season tight end records for receptions (88) and receiving yards (1,062).

DAWKINS COLLECTS WUERFFEL TROPHY

• Penn State redshirt senior offensive lineman Nick Dawkins garnered the AllState Wuerffel Trophy.
• The Allstate Wuerffel Trophy, named after Danny Wuerffel, 1996 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback at Florida, is considered college football’s premier award for community service.
• Dawkins became the first Nittany Lion in program history to earn the Wuerffel Trophy.
• He founded the Dawkins Family Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to empowering communities through youth engagement. The foundation has awarded three scholarships to high school seniors and collaborates with the Lehigh Valley YMCA and Big Brothers Big Sisters to provide book bags for children and teens in need.
• Dawkins has interned with the YMCA of Centre County, where he developed a multi-sports camp and an Olympic Games camp as part of the YMCA’s summer youth programming. Additionally, he volunteers at Parkland sports camps.
• He is the president of Penn State’s chapter of Uplifting Athletes, which raises funds for rare disease research, notably through its “Lift for Life” workout competition each June.
• Dawkins also serves on the board of Devon Still’s “Still Strong Foundation”, which supports childhood cancer initiatives.
• Last year, Dawkins chaired the diversity, equity, and inclusion committee for Penn State’s student-athlete advisory committee.

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