By Joshua Yoder

STATE COLLEGE – Well football fans! We are nearly at the start of the 12 team college football playoffs this weekend. But one match up that many people here will be looking forward to is the first round game between the six seeded Penn State Nittany Lions against the 10 seed SMU Mustangs Saturday afternoon.

Both the Mustangs and the Nittany Lions are coming off tough losses in their respective championship games with SMU losing to Clemson in the ACC title game and Penn State falling to the Oregon Ducks in the Big Ten Championship game so both of these teams are looking to prove something in this first round match up.

Comparing the two teams, SMU has the advantage on the offensive side of the ball as the Mustangs average nearly 40 points a game which ranks them at fourth while Penn State averaged about 35 points a game as they are ranked 19.

Defensively however it is a whole different story. In this category the Nittany Lions have a big time advantage which in my humble opinion; the defense will play a big factor as to why I believe Penn State will win this game. The Penn State defense is ranked at the 11 spot in points allowed per game with 16. Meanwhile the SMU defense is ranked 40 allowing 20 points a game.

However, with that being said, SMU does have the edge in turnovers forced compared to Penn State as the Mustangs have forced 21 turnovers to Penn State’s 17.

The run game and really the time of possession will be another reason why I believe that Penn State will win against SMU as the Mustangs’ opponent’s average a better time of possession averaging 31:34 minutes while the Mustangs had an average of 28:26 per game. So I feel like the duo of Kaytron Allen and Nic Singleton could have a big games.

SMU will also have to face the tough combination of the Pennsylvania cold weather as the forecast saying that the Saturday game will have a snow shower with a high of 29 degrees. But there will also be 15 mph winds and 29 mph wind gusts making the real feel be 17 degrees. Also the roar of Beaver Stadium I believe will also be a factor in this game.

My prediction, PSU 24, SMU 20

Best of Luck to both teams!