STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Dominic DeLuca and Tony Rojas returned interceptions for touchdowns and Penn State toyed with mistake-prone SMU in a 38-10 victory Saturday in the opening round of the College Football Playoff.
The sixth-seeded Nittany Lions (12-2) advanced to face third-seeded Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year's Eve by hounding Mustangs quarterback Kevin Jennings into three turnovers, including a pair of ill-thrown floaters in the first half that DeLuca and Rojas converted into pick-sixes that sent the white-out crowd at wintry Beaver Stadium into a frenzy and SMU (11-3) into a funk from which it never recovered.