What did SMU coach Rhett Lashlee, Penn State players say about the Lions' 38-10 CFP win?

STATE COLLEGE — SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee expressed disappointment in the visiting media room on Saturday afternoon following his team’s 38-10 loss to Penn State. He felt the contest was closer than the scoreboard indicated and pointed to a disastrous second quarter for the Mustangs as the biggest reason for his team’s setback that ended its season. SMU gave up 21 points in the second 15-minute frame at Beaver Stadium including quarterback Kevin Jennings second pick six of the day.

“Disappointed specifically in the second quarter,” Lashlee said. “We let the game get away from us and didn’t give ourself a chance to compete today the way that we know we can, you know. I thought we had a chance to start well early. We deferred, we got a quick stop. Offense started moving the football. We got to fourth and probably half a yard. We decided to be aggressive and had an opportunity to either run for the first down or throw for a touchdown, and either one would have been good if we would have executed it. Chose to throw it. We didn’t make the throw and catch. Had a really good chance to go up 7-0 early and that would have been big for the momentum. We didn’t.

“Defense got another stop and then that’s when we kind of started to hurt ourselves and beat ourselves with the pick six on our own end. The ball just sailed on him across the middle and then, still, 7-0 going into the second quarter. Had the ball, I believe, and just, again, second quarter got away from us with another pick six, another pick in the red zone after we got a stop on fourth and one and you just can’t do that stuff, so.”

Did the weather, or a Beaver Stadium crowd of 106,000-plus, have a major impact on the game in the mind of the Mustangs’ leader?

“Both teams played in the same weather on the same field,” Lashlee said. “Their punter missed a few punts early. Our punter missed a punt. We have a kicker who has a strong leg, had a short kick because he missed it, you know, both teams played in it. I don’t think weather had anything to do with anything, yeah.

“I don’t think we burned time-outs because of the crowd per se but I thought 95% of the game we handled the crowd great. First half we didn’t have any issues. It was that third quarter we got down on the endzone where the student section was and I think we had the ball inside the five two different times. We settled for a field goal on one. We missed a field goal on the other. You know, I think when you couple that with the drive in the first half, we had the ball probably inside the 10 or 15 twice, three time, excuse me, and had an interception, a field goal and a missed field goal.

“The crowd was definitely a factor there, and, you know, it showed. We can’t — if we just snap the ball and hand it off, we have some good things and we go backwards and now you get to second and third and goal from the 9, the 11, those are low percentage no matter who you’re playing. I think that’s when it affected us the most, was that third quarter going into the endzone where the student section was, and that’s what college football’s all about. We got to handle that better.”

What did Penn State players say after the win?

Here’s a look at what was on the minds of numerous Nittany Lions following the victory:

“Ever since I got here from year 1 to year 3, ask anybody in the building, Dom does everything right. He always does his job at 100 percent, always in the right position. He does everything right, and he makes plays on the field because of that. All of it shows.”

–PSU DE Abdul Carter on Lions’ linebacker Dominic DeLuca.

“I think we came in, and we played and adjusted to that well. With spectacular performances from Tony Rojas, Dom DeLuca, Abdul, the list goes on. That is just a testament to us and how we approach everything throughout the week, especially Coach Allen’s approach to this week, especially coming off of the Big Ten Championship, adjusting to the tempo and playing through that very well.

“I think we just did a great job in our preparation and really examining and looking at what we did a couple weeks ago in the Big Ten Championship and improving on that.”

–Penn State defensive tackle Dvon J-Thomas.

More: Penn State takeaways: 4 thoughts from the Lions’ post-SMU media session

“In terms of Coach Franklin, he gets a lot of criticism that’s undeserved, and he’s done a lot more than people give him credit for. Obviously, winning his 100th game, it’s special to be a part of that and be the team that was able to deliver that 100th game win to him. To have it on a stage like the playoffs and at home in Beaver Stadium, it’s truly special.

“We don’t take these moments for granted, but at the end of the day, me personally, I don’t care what anybody said about me from the outside just because I saw a quote like why would you take criticism from somebody that you would never take advice from? That kind of sticks with me. There’s a lot of people out there that don’t really know what goes on behind the scenes, and it is what it is. It’s part of playing at a place like Penn State.”

–Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar.