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Fiesta Sports Foundation

Fiesta Bowl History

54th Annual Game, 2024

  • Teams Penn State vs. Boise State
  • Score 31-14, Penn State
  • Date December 31, 2024
  • Attendance 63,854

Biography

The first-ever College Football Playoff Quarterfinal pitted two of the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl's legacy schools. On one sideline, No. 6 seed Penn State, the Big Ten runner-up whose Fiesta Bowl history dates back to the Bowl's early years. On the other, Mountain West champion and No. 3 seed Boise State, who delivered one of the Fiesta Bowl's – and college football's – most memorable victories in 2007.

Two schools combined for a 10-0 record in the Fiesta Bowl, but all that mattered was a win on New Year's Eve to continue their quest in the College Football Playoff.

Behind a balanced offense and an opportunistic defense, Penn State never trailed in a 31-14 victory over Boise State. The Nittany Lions increased their all-time Fiesta Bowl leading win total to eight, and more importantly advanced to the CFP Semifinal at the Orange Bowl to face No. 7 seed Notre Dame.

On offense, Penn State (13-2) was effective on the ground (216 yards rushing) and through the air (171 yards passing, three touchdowns). Defensively, the Nittany Lions corralled the Broncos' rushing attack and forced four turnovers. In comparison, Boise State entered the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl having committed only eight turnovers all season.

All eyes were on Boise State's Ashton Jeanty, who needed 132 yards to break Barry Sanders' FBS single-season record. However, the Heisman Trophy runner-up was limited to only 104 yards on 30 carries against Penn State's stifling run defense, ranked No. 7 nationally. Jeanty finished his impressive season with 2,601 rushing yards, the second-most in FBS history.

After Boise State (12-2) came up empty on the first drive of the game following a missed field goal, Penn State immediately marched down the field for a 72-yard touchdown drive, capped by an 11-yard toss from Drew Allar to Mackey Award winner Tyler Warren. On its next drive, Allar threw a 38-yard touchdown to Omari Evans and Penn State led 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Boise State settled in and struck for its first touchdown of the game on its opening drive of the second quarter. Tyler Crowe punched it in from eight yards out and cut the Penn State lead to 14-7.

Trailing 17-7, Boise State struck fast and injected a jolt of energy into the Bronco faithful in early minutes of the third quarter. After forcing a quick Penn State three-and-out, Matt Lauter found himself all alone down the sideline for a 53-yard catch-and-run touchdown from Maddux Madsen. Lauter's score brought the Broncos within 17-14 less than four minutes into the second half. But the Broncos' offense struggled to find their footing the rest of the evening.

Boise State missed a second field goal and threw three interceptions on its final four drives.

The first of the three interceptions proved to be the most costly. After Allar and Warren connected for their second touchdown in response to Lauter's touchdown for a 24-14 Nittany Lions lead, Boise State possessed the ball for more than seven and a half minutes on its ensuing drive.

A 20-yard Prince Strachan touchdown catch was nullified by a penalty, a score that would have made it a one-possession game again. Instead, two plays later, Madsen was intercepted by Zakee Wheatley on the first play of the fourth quarter. Madsen threw two more interceptions in the fourth quarter, with his three interceptions matching his entire season's total entering the game.

Nicholas Singleton closed the book with a punctuating 58-yard touchdown run with 4:54 to play.

Penn State's latest victory in the first-ever CFP Quarterfinal joins a long line of historic moments in the Fiesta Bowl. Penn State, which notched its school record 13th victory in 2024, also claimed wins in the first Fiesta Bowl to be played on New Year's Day (vs. USC in 1982) and the first created national championship game in college football history (vs. No. 1 Miami in 1987 Fiesta Bowl).

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  • Stadium:

    State Farm Stadium

  • Attendance:

    63,854

  • Offensive Player of the Game:

    Tyler Warren, TE, Penn State

  • Defensive Player of the Game:

    Zakee Wheatley, S, Penn State

  • Head Coaches:

    James Franklin - Penn State, Spencer Danielson - Boise State

  • Weather:

    Indoors, roof closed

Quarter Scores

Scoring 1 2 3 4 F
Penn State 14 3 7 7 31
Boise State 0 7 7 0 14

Yardstick

PSU BSU
21 First Downs 24
41-216 Rushes - Yards 40-108
171 Passing Yards 304
13-25-0 Passes 23-35-3
6-283 Punts - Yards 4-163
1-1 Fumbles - Lost 2-1
10-98 Penalties - Yards 13-90

Individual Statistics

Rushing
PSU Kaytron Allen 17-134, Nicholas Singleton 12-87-1TD, Drew Allar 11-(-4)
BSU Ashton Jeanty 30-104, Tyler Crowe 1-8-1TD, Jambres Dubar 2-(-1), Maddux Madsen 7-(-3)
Passing
PSU Drew Allar 13-25-171-3TD
BSU Maddux Madsen 23-35-304-1TD-1INT
Receiving
PSU Tyler Warren 6-63-2TD, Harrison Wallace III 3-37, Omari Evans 2-55-1TD, Luke Reynolds 2-16
BSU Matt Lauter 4-96-1TD, Prince Strachan 4-40, Latrell Caples 4-30, Cameron Camper 3-66, Ashton Jeanty 3-22, Matt Wagner 2-24, Austin Bolt 2-14, Ben Ford 1-12

How They Scored

PSU BSU
7 0 Tyler Warren 11 yd pass from Drew Allar (Ryan Barker kick)
14 0 Omari Evans 38 yd pass from Drew Allar (Ryan Barker kick)
14 7 Tyler Crowe 8 yd rush (Jonah Dalmas kick)
17 7 Ryan Barker 40 yd field goal
17 14 Matt Lauter 53 yd pass from Maddux Madsen (Jonah Dalmas kick)
24 14 Tyler Warren 13 yd pass from Drew Allar (Ryan Barker kick)
31 14 Nicholas Singleton 58 yd rush (Ryan Barker kick)