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College Football Playoff

Playoff First Round

Saturday, December 21, 2024 | Noon ET No. 6 Seed Penn State 38, No. 11 Seed SMU 10 Beaver Stadium | State College, Pennsylvania
No. 6 seed Penn State will host No. 11 seed SMU on Saturday, December 21 at Noon ET. The game will be televised by TNT and MAX.

This will mark the first appearance in the College Football Playoff for both the Nittany Lions and the Mustangs.

Penn State leads the series 1-0-1 overall. The last meeting between the teeams was on September 23, 1978, when the Nittany Lions posted a 26-21 home victory over the Mustangs. The first meeting between the squads took place in the postseason, resulting in a 13-13 tie at the Cotton Bowl.
FOLLOW THE ACTION!


NO. 11 SEED SMU

NO. 6 SEED PENN STATE


ABOUT THE MUSTANGS
2024-25 SCHEDULE AND RESULTS
Date Opponent Score
Sat., Aug. 24 at Nevada W 29-24
Sat., Aug. 31 Houston Christian W 59-7
Fri., Sept. 6 BYU L 18-15
Sat., Sept. 21 TCU W 66-42
Sat., Sept. 28 Florida State W 42-16
Sat., Oct. 5 at Louisville W 34-27
Sat., Oct. 19 at Stanford W 40-10
Sat., Oct. 26 @ Duke W 28-27
Sat., Nov. 2 vs Pittsburgh W 48-25
Sat., Nov. 16 Boston College W 38-28
Sat., Nov. 23 at Virginia W 33-7
Sat., Nov. 30 California W 38-6
Sat., Dec. 7 vs. Clemson L 34-31
Sat., Dec. 21 at Penn State L 10-38
MEDIA COVERAGE
SMU IN THE POSTSEASON (7-12-1)
Date Bowl Opponent Score
Jan. 1, 1925 Dixie Classic West Virginia Wesleyan L 7-9
Jan. 1, 1936 Rose Stanford L 0-7
Jan. 1, 1948 Cotton Penn State T 13-13
Jan. 1, 1949 Cotton Oregon W 21-13
Dec. 31, 1963 Sun Oregon L 14-21
Dec. 31, 1966 Cotton Georgia L 9-24
Dec. 31, 1968 Astro-Bluebonnet Oklahoma W 28-27
Dec. 19, 1980 Holiday BYU L 45-46
Jan. 1, 1983 Cotton Pittsburgh W 7-3
Dec. 24, 1983 Sun Alabama L 7-28
Dec. 28, 1984 Aloha Notre Dame W 27-20
Dec. 24, 2009 Hawaii Nevada W 45-10
Dec. 30, 2010 Armed Forces Army L 14-16
Jan. 7, 2012 BBVA Compass Pittsburgh W 28-6
Dec. 24, 2012 Hawaii Fresno State W 43-10
Dec. 20, 2017 Frisco Louisiana Tech L 10-51
Dec. 21, 2019 Boca Raton Florida Atlantic L 28-52
Dec. 17, 2022 New Mexico BYU L 23-24
Dec. 28, 2023 Wasabi Fenway Boston College L 14-23
Dec. 21, 2024 CFP First Round SMU L 10-38
ABOUT THE NITTANY LIONS
2024-25 SCHEDULE AND RESULTS
Date Opponent Score
Sat., Aug. 31 at West Virginia W 34-12
Sat., Sept. 7 Bowling Green W 34-27
Sat., Sept. 21 Kent State W 56-0
Sat., Sept. 28 Illinois W 21-7
Sat., Oct. 5 UCLA W 27-11
Sat., Oct. 12 at USC W 33-30
Sat., Oct. 26 at Wisconsin W 28-13
Sat., Nov. 2 Ohio State L 20-13
Sat., Nov. 9 Washington W 35-6
Sat., Nov. 16 at Purdue W 49-10
Sat., Nov. 23 at Minnesota W 26-25
Sat., Nov. 30 Maryland W 44-7
Sat., Dec. 7 vs. Oregon L 45-37
Sat., Dec. 21 SMU W 38-10
MEDIA COVERAGE
PENN STATE IN THE POSTSEASON (32-20-2)
Date Bowl Opponent Score
Jan. 1, 1923 Rose USC L 3-14
Jan. 1, 1948 Cotton SMU T 13-13
Dec. 19, 1959 Liberty Alabama W 7-0
Dec. 17, 1960 Liberty Oregon W 41-12
Dec. 30, 1961 Gator Georgia Tech W 30-15
Dec. 29, 1962 Gator Florida L 7-17
Dec. 30, 1967 Gator Florida State T 17-17
Jan. 1, 1969 Orange Kansas W 15-14
Jan. 1, 1970 Orange Missouri W 10-3
Jan. 1, 1972 Cotton Texas W 30-6
Dec. 31, 1972 Sugar Oklahoma L 0-14
Jan. 1, 1974 Orange LSU W 16-9
Jan. 1, 1975 Cotton Baylor W 41-20
Dec. 31, 1975 Sugar Alabama L 6-13
Dec. 27, 1976 Gator Notre Dame L 9-20
Dec. 25, 1977 Fiesta Arizona State W 42-30
Jan. 1, 1979 Sugar Alabama W 14-7
Dec. 22, 1979 Liberty Tulane W 9-6
Dec. 26, 1980 Fiesta Ohio State W 31-19
Jan. 1, 1982 Fiesta USC W 26-10
Jan. 1, 1983 Sugar Georgia W 27-23
Dec. 26, 1983 Aloha Washington W 13-10
Jan. 1, 1986 Orange Oklahoma L 10-25
Jan. 2, 1987 Fiesta Miami W 14-10
Jan. 1, 1988 Citrus Clemson L 10-35
Dec. 29, 1989 Holiday BYU W 50-39
Dec. 28, 1990 Blockbuster Florida State L 17-24
Jan. 1, 1992 Fiesta Tennessee W 42-17
Jan. 1, 1993 Blockbuster Stanford L 3-24
Jan. 1, 1994 Citrus Tennessee W 31-13
Jan. 2, 1995 Rose Oregon W 38-20
Jan. 1, 1996 Outback Auburn W 43-14
Jan. 1, 1997 Fiesta Texas W 38-15
Jan. 1, 1998 Citrus Florida L 6-21
Jan. 1, 1999 Outback Kentucky W 26-14
Dec. 28, 1999 Alamo Texas A&M W 24-0
Jan. 1, 2003 Citrus Auburn L 9-13
Jan. 3, 2006 Orange Florida State W 26-23 (3OT)
Jan. 1, 2007 Outback Tennessee W 20-10
Dec. 29, 2007 Alamo Texas A&M W 24-17
Jan. 1, 2009 Rose USC L 24-38
Jan. 1, 2010 Citrus LSU L 17-19
Jan. 1, 2011 Outback Florida State L 24-37
Jan. 2, 2012 TicketCity Houston L 14-30
Dec. 27, 2014 Pinstripe Boston College W 31-30 (OT)
Jan. 2, 2016 TaxSlayer Georgia L 17-24
Jan. 2, 2017 Rose USC L 49-52
Dec. 30, 2017 Fiesta Washington W 35-28
Jan. 1, 2019 Citrus Kentucky L 24-27
Dec. 31, 2019 Cotton Memphis W 53-39
Jan. 1, 2022 Outback Arkansas L 10-24
Jan. 2, 2023 Rose Utah W 35-21
Dec. 30, 2023 Peach Ole Miss L 35-38
Dec. 21, 2024 CFP First Round SMU W 38-10