The first semifinal matchup of the 2024 college football playoff kicks off on Tuesday when the No. 6 ranked Penn State Nittany Lions (12-2) head west to take on the No. 3 ranked Boise State Broncos (12-1) in the Fiesta Bowl.
Penn State punched their ticket by stomping SMU in the opening round of the college football playoffs. The Nittany Lions’ only losses this season came to No. 1 ranked Oregon and No. 8 ranked Ohio State this season.
Boise State’s lone loss came to Oregon to start the year. Since then, the Broncos have been undefeated as they ran through the Moutain West to claim the only spot from a non-power conference in this year’s playoff bracket.
Will Boise State prove the CFP committee was right to slot them as a top-three team this season? We’ll cover that and our three favorite player prop bets in Tuesday’s semifinal matchup in the Fiesta Bowl.
With a running attack like Penn State, the Nittany Lions do not need to rely solely on quarterback Drew Allar to win games. Still, it’s nice having a 6-foot-5 junior like Allar under center as he has completed 68.5 percent of his passes for 3,021 yards, 21 touchdowns, and seven interceptions.
Against Boise State, bettors should expect Penn State to continue its winning formula of running the football. While the Broncos will load up on stopping the run, Allar will connect on key passes when needed or run for important first downs. Bet with confidence that Allar does not exceed the 225-yard passing mark to cover this player prop bet.
It doesn’t matter that everyone in the stadium knows what’s coming if you’re the Boise State Broncos and have a running back like junior Ashton Jeanty. This season, the 5-foot-9 athlete carried the football 344 times for 2,497 yards and 29 touchdowns, earning his trip to New York for the Heisman presentation.
While he did not claim the award, he’s done just about everything else he could this season. He’ll continue to be the focal point of his team’s offense on Tuesday against the Nittany Lions, and he’ll continue to produce triple-figure performances. Expect him to cover this player prop bet in the Fiesta Bowl against Penn State.
When Allar does throw, his top target is future NFL tight end Tyler Warren. The 6-foot-6 senior has 95 receptions for 1,095 yards and six touchdowns this season through the air. He’s also ran the football 24 times for 197 yards and four scores in 2024.
He’ll continue his strong season on Tuesday against the Broncos. Expect Boise State to play with seven or eight men in the box to slow down Penn State’s rushing attack, giving the Nittany Lions plenty of opportunity to find Warren down the field. He’ll cover this player prop bet with at least 80 yards in the Fiesta Bowl.
Picking the Broncos to finish better than their 11.5-point spread isn’t a vote of confidence that the Broncos will upset Penn State.
Instead, there’s little reason to believe the Broncos can’t keep this within a touchdown in their fourth Fiesta Bowl appearance. Expect Boise State to make this a game that could come down to the wire on Tuesday night.