What's at stake in Penn State and SMU's first round College Football Playoff matchup
The 12-team college football playoff is officially here, folks, and it’s feeling like the 1980s are back.
The SMU Mustangs are taking on the Penn State Nittany Lions in the first round on Saturday at noon ET at Beaver Stadium in Happy Valley. These were two powerhouse programs in the past. They last played one another back in 1978 when Penn State beat SMU 26-21.
Now, in 2024, they’ll square off against one another and make a little more college football history with the stakes in this game.
This is the very first college football playoff appearance for both programs. James Franklin’s Nittany Lions have been a mainstay in the postseason, playing in a bowl game every year since he was hired 2014 outside of the COVID year. However, this is the first time the stakes have been this big.
Watch Penn State vs SMU on Sling
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This is also SMU’s first CFP appearance. The Mustangs barely made it into the playoff after pulling off a near-comeback in the ACC championship game against Clemson.
Rhett Lashlee is 29-11 as SMU’s head coach but is 0-2 in the postseason, with two straight bowl losses in the New Mexico Bowl (2022) and the Fenway Bowl (2023). But, just like with Franklin, the stakes have never quite been this high for Lashlee.
We’ll see who comes out on top.
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