Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1530530
J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 5 2 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// T H E B I G P I C T U R E ////////// Penn State's path to a potential national championship will begin in Happy Valley with a home game against No. 11 seed SMU in the College Football Playoff. In the first year of the expanded playoff, the 11-2 Nittany Lions have earned a No. 6 seed, and Beaver Stadium will be the site of one of four on-campus first-round games. The game will kick off at noon on Dec. 21 and will air on TNT. Many questions have been raised about the new for- mat and its ramifications. We'll try to answer some of them below. Why will the Penn State-SMU game air on TNT? In the new College Football Playoff deal, the rights are held by ESPN. The sports media giant has a five-year agreement to sublicense two first-round matchups to TNT Sports. The rest of the playoff will be aired on ABC or ESPN. The 4 p.m. playoff game between Clemson and Texas will be the other TNT game in the first round. Who is calling the game for TNT? TNT Sports does not have dedicated college football broadcast teams, so all of the games will be handled by ESPN's teams. The Penn State-SMU game has drawn play- by-play man Mark Jones, color commentator Roddy Jones and sideline reporter Quint Kessenich. Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe will call No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State. Sean McDonough, Greg McElroy and Molly McGrath will be in South Bend, Ind., on Friday, Dec. 20, for No. 10 Indiana versus No. 7 Notre Dame, while Joe Tessitore, Jesse Palmer and Katie George will be in Austin for No. 12 Clemson against No. 5 Texas. What was the opening line? Penn State opened as a 7.5-point favorite at FanDuel, where the total is 53.5 points. DraftKings has Penn State as an 8-point favorite and lists the total at 53. How did SMU make the 12-team playoff field? The Mustangs fell to Clemson in the ACC title game via a walk-off field goal by the Tigers. Still, the body of work was impressive enough for the 11-2 squad to grab the last at-large bid in the field. The Mustangs finished No. 10 in the final College Football Playoff rankings and remained ahead of 10-3 Clemson, which holds the 12 seed as an auto-bid and checked in at No. 16 in the committee's rankings. SMU fell to BYU back in September, but the Mustangs' résumé won out over 9-3 Alabama, which was the first team left out of the field. How is the ticketing being handled? While it will be a home game for Penn State, the College Football Playoff is the recipient of the ticket revenue. It will then be spread to teams throughout college football. Pricing is standardized across the coun- try in these first-round games and will include different price points for seats. General seating prices will range from $100 to $250, per On3. Penn State is selling student tickets for $25. Playoff rules require host sites to set aside 3,500 tick- ets for the opposing team. An opposing band would be included in that allotment, with 1,500 tickets in the lower bowl. Penn State season-ticket holders received emails this past fall about securing their seats for the first round, with a Nov. 22 deadline. Mobile ticketing is the exclusive delivery method, and printed tickets will not be issued. What revenue does Penn State generate from the home playoff game? Penn State's revenue will come in the form of parking fees and concessions. The Nittany Lions will not get the full ticket revenue for this game. Can Penn State host recruits since it's a home game? No. Despite being held during a recruiting quiet period, which does allow for on-campus visits, Penn State cannot host recruits as it does for all other home games. The NCAA does not allow programs to provide free or dis- counted tickets to recruits for postseason events. If recruits would like to attend, they must buy tickets like everyone else. What is the transfer portal situation for Penn State players? The portal is open Dec. 9-28. However, athletes on teams that compete in the CFP will be allowed to enter during an additional five-day transfer window in January. That window will open following their team's final playoff game. Do playoff games count against current redshirting rules? The NCAA rule allowing players to preserve a redshirt season by playing in four games or fewer is not relevant in the postseason. Freshmen, or others hoping to keep the extra year, can play in the postseason without it counting against their four-game total. The Nittany Lions burned three redshirts in the 2024 class: offensive lineman Cooper Cousins, tight end Luke Reynolds and safety Dejuan Lane. Will junior safety Kevin Winston Jr. return for the playoff run? The Nittany Lions have been without Winston since the season's second week due to an unspecified injury. He was seen prior to the Ohio State game on Nov. 2 with his right leg in a brace. James Franklin said on Dec. 8 that the veteran defensive back will not be available for the remainder of the season. — Sean Fitz College Football Playoff FAQ Answering the most-asked questions ahead of Penn State's CFP debut Safety Kevin Winston Jr. is recovering from an injury and will not be ready in time to partici- pate in the playoff. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL Arizona State fell to Texas Tech and Cin- cinnati. Ohio State dropped its rivalry game to Michigan on the final day of the regular season after going in as a three- touchdown favorite. For the Nittany Lions, the goal is to simply ignore all the chatter, move on from the loss to the Ducks and get ready for an environment in which every game could be a season-ender. The team didn't hold a watch party for the playoff selec- tion show, preferring to recuperate after a tough night in Indianapolis. When it's time to face SMU, the Lions hope to be ready to give their best effort. "We've got a ton of football left in front of us," Franklin said, "as long as we handle it the right way." ■