Penn State-Boise State Takeaways: Lions overcome Broncos but sustain key injuries

By Greg Pickel

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Penn State is moving on in the College Football Playoff. The Nittany Lions won the first-ever CFP quarterfinal matchup here Tuesday night by beating Boise State, 31-14, at State Farm Stadium. Head coach James Franklin’s team will play the winner of a Wednesday quarterfinal between Georgia and Notre Dame in the semifinal round at the Orange Bowl on Jan. 9.

Here are our initial takeaways from the Lions’ latest win.

All eyes now turn to the status of Abdul Carter

The unanimous All-America defensive end left the game twice in the second quarter due to injury. He did not return following the second such instance after leaving the field favoring his left arm. Carter clearly seemed to be in pain as he was evaluated on the sideline. He stayed in pads in the second half but never had his helmet and did not return to game action.

After the game, Franklin did not have much to say about Carter’s status.

“We’ll get that checked out and see,” he said. “Obviously, the safety and health and welfare of our guys is priority No. 1. But then, I know Abdul will want to play next week and will do everything in his power if he’s able to. We’ll find out.”

The Penn State pass rush struggled with Carter sidelined, though Boise State’s reliance on quick, short passes was part of the reason for that. PSU will need the junior defensive end back in action to have its best chance in the semifinals against either Notre Dame or Georgia, but it’s possible that Carter has played his final game as a Nittany Lion.

In related news, Penn State defensive ends Smith Vilbert and Dani Dennis-Sutton were both banged up and left the field due to injuries, too.

Tyler Warren came to play

The Nittany Lion tight end, who is an All-American and the holder of many records, broke the school’s single-season receptions mark previously held by Allen Robinson when he came up with his 98th grab of the year on his second touchdown. Penn State’s offense was up-and-down, but Warren shined. He finished with 6 catches for 63 yards and two scores, and continued to show why he was the Mackey Award winner, even with some uncharacteristic drops mixed in.

Why didn’t Penn State run more?

That’s one aspect of this game that will have many scratching their heads. Junior Kaytron Allen averaged a whopping 7.9 yards per carry, while Nicholas Singleton had a game-sealing 58-yard fourth-quarter touchdown run. But overall, they touched the ball 26 times before it came time to run the clock out, compared to 25 Drew Allar pass attempts, many of which bafflingly came in short-yardage down-and-distance situations. Ultimately, it does not matter, because Penn State came away with a win. But, watching it all play out was a bit confusing.

For what it’s worth, both Nittany Lion running backs have now surpassed the 1,000-yard mark this season.

The Lions kept Ashton Jeanty in check

Penn State mostly kept Boise State star running back Ashton Jeanty in check. He did rip off a beautiful 26-yard run in the second half but ultimately did not come up with big, explosive runs on this night as he has so many other times this season. Jeanty, the Heisman Trophy runner-up, finished with 103 yards on 30 attempts and just 3.4 yards per carry. All those numbers are far below his season averages.

Penn State-Boise State odds and ends

— The amount of penalties in this game was ridiculous for both sides. The Nittany Lions were flagged 10 times for 98 yards in losses, while the Broncos had 13 for 90 yards — and most of those 23 penalties appeared to be the correct call. It was a sloppy performance by both teams.

— Backup defensive end Amin Vanover had his best game as a Nittany Lion. He had two tackles for loss, a sack, and a forced fumble. He was all over the field on this night.

— Turnovers were the story of this night. The Broncos had four and the Lions one.