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Penn State Football

Boise State Tasked With Limiting Multiple Penn State Weapons

When Penn State and Boise State face off for the first time ever in next week’s Fiesta Bowl, there will be a multitude of weapons at each team’s disposal.

For Boise State, coach Spencer Danielson and his team will be tasked with limiting Penn State offense filled with weapons. On the Penn State side, coach James Franklin and his squad will need to thwart Heisman-runner-up Ashton Jeanty.

“They’re a touchdown away from being the Big 10 champs and probably being the number one overall seed in the in the playoffs,” Danielson said earlier this week.

As SMU found out in the CFP First Round, it’s certainly not easy to have to handle the different weapons at Penn State’s disposal, but Danielson certainly has a solid idea of what to expect from the Penn State.

“Offensively, they put you in a lot of conflict,” Danielson said. “I mean, their new offensive coordinator, Andy (Kotelnicki), does a phenomenal job shifting motioning bunch of different personnels, and they’re very, very talented across the board, so we got to do a great job with our communication or eye control just to deal with all the pre snap issues.”

That conflict comes in a multitude of different looks and variations of the offense, but from a personnel standpoint, they throw a lot at opponents there as well.

“Along with a lot of schematics that attack you, I think we’re going to defend two of the best running backs we’ve seen all year,” Danielson said. “I don’t even know if it’s close. I mean, these two backs are elite. Not only they have the top end speed, but they can also break any arm tackle you come with.”

The two running backs he mentioned would be Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton who make up a well put together two-headed monster in the backfield.

Which, of course, will force Danielson to decide how to defend and limit tight end Tyler Warren while also trying to hinder Penn Stateโ€™s production.

“They got one of the best tight ends the entire country, going to be a first day draft pick, and it’s deserved,” Danielson said. “What I love about Tyler (Warren), No. 44 is he’s not just a pass catcher, which he is. He’ll line up at Wildcat. He’ll he catches a ton of balls, but he’s also extremely physical at the point of attack in the run game and they got multiple tight ends with him.”

Saturday’s win against SMU might not have been the prettiest from Warren or even quarterback Drew Allar but it didnโ€™t need to be. Despite that, Allar is still someone Danielson will have to be worried about Tuesday.

“Their quarterback’s and NFL type kid,” Danielson. “He’s long, can run when the pocket breaks down. They do have some designed runs we got to be ready for and he can make the big boy throw. Offensively, they put you in a lot of conflict. We got our work cut off for us.”

The offense might not have had their best day in the win against the Mustangs, but the defense, led by coordinator Tom Allen, had arguably its best game of the season and Danielson is well aware of what they’re capable of.

โ€œDefensively, it was on full display what they did this weekend versus SMU. I mean, one of the best fronts we’ve seen all season,” Danielson said. “Obviously, everybody knows about Abdul Carter, No. 11. I mean, an elite edge rusher, and talk about a young man that’s relentless to the football on both sides.”

It’s far from the Carter show defensively and Danielson mentioned Dani Dennis-Sutton and Kobe King as players who are relentless in getting to the quarterback and making plays.

“They’ve got a bunch of players on defense that are absolute relentless. They’re extremely talented,” Danielson said. “They play really well together, and it’s really hard to get them misaligned, even on shifts and motions, different things.”

When the Penn State defense is buzzing like they were against SMU, they are hard to handle and it makes for a long day for opponents like Boise State. Will the same outcome happen this week? Anything is possible, but Danielson knows it’s going to be an uphill battle for his Broncos.

“They’re very well coached. Coach Allen’s done a really good job with that unit,” Danielson said. “They get lined up, they’re on the same page, and then they pin their ears back, and they’re on the attack, one of the top run defenses in the country, one of the top defenses in the country, in regards to points scored against him so we got our work cut out for us in that end.”

 

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