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The quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff begin on New Year’s Eve at the Fiesta Bowl as (3) Boise State takes on (6) Penn State. And just in case advancing in the playoff wasn’t enough, it’s also a battle between two teams that have never lost a Fiesta Bowl.
No program has won the Fiesta Bowl more often than Penn State, which is 7-0 in its history. Then there’s Boise State, which is the Fiesta Bowl’s Cinderella. The Broncos are 3-0 in the game and remembered most for their upset over Oklahoma in the 2007 game. They’ve returned twice since then to knock off TCU (2010) and Arizona (2014).
But while both teams have plenty of history with the Fiesta Bowl, they don’t have any with each other. This will be the first time the programs have met on the football field. The winner will move on to the Orange Bowl semifinal, where they’ll await the winner of the Sugar Bowl between (2) Georgia and (7) Notre Dame.
Penn State vs. Boise State: Need to know
The win over SMU was James Franklin’s 100th win at Penn State: The first-round win over SMU was meaningful for Franklin. Not only was it his first career College Football Playoff win, but his 100th win at Penn State. Franklin is one of only seven active coaches who have won at least 100 games at their current school. The others are Kirk Ferentz (Iowa), Dabo Swinney (Clemson), Mike Gundy (Oklahoma State), Kyle Whittingham (Utah), Troy Calhoun (Air Force) and Kirby Smart (Georgia).
Penn State has never won 13 games in a season before: Penn State is one of the most successful college football programs in history. It has won 919 games and two national titles (as well as five more unclaimed titles). It’s produced 44 consensus All-Americans. But it’s never won 13 games in a single season before. With a win against Boise State, it’ll do just that.
Boise State hasn’t won 13 games since 2009: Boise State doesn’t have nearly the history the Nittany Lions do, but it has won 13 games in a season before! In fact, they’ve done it three times, all as a member of the WAC in 2003, 2006 and 2009. What’s crazier? If Boise State wants to set a school record for most wins in one season, it’ll have to win the national title to do so. It went 14-0 in 2009 after getting an extra game for traveling to Hawaii during the regular season. If you haven’t figured it out yet, that 14th win in 2009 came in the Fiesta Bowl against TCU.
Where to watch Fiesta Bowl live
Date: Tuesday, December 31 | Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: State Farm Stadium — Glendale, Arizona
TV: ESPN | Live stream: Fubo (Try for free)
Fiesta Bowl prediction, pick
My concern for Boise State in this matchup is its defense. According to TruMedia, there isn’t a defense in the country that missed tackles at a higher rate than this Boise State unit, so I worry about Boise’s ability to get stops in this matchup. I also worry that, as great as Ashton Jeanty is, can the Boise State offense score enough points if the Nittany Lions stack the box and force Boise to beat it through the air? I’m not sure it can. Pick: Penn State -10.5
SportsLine’s proven computer model is calling for 10 outright upsets during college football’s bowl and playoff season. Visit SportsLine now to see them all, plus get spread picks for every game from the model that simulates every matchup 10,000 times.
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