The College Football Playoff has begun, and we’re getting a Saturday triple-header of playoff games, the first of which will take place between (6) Penn State and (11) SMU. While there are three different games dealing with wintry conditions this weekend, this is the only one featuring a team with a southern climate heading north to play in the cold.
It’s a matchup featuring two teams that lost their conference championship games and the bye that would’ve come with those league titles. However, some argue that the losses could’ve been silver linings for both because the winner of today’s game heads to the Fiesta Bowl to face (3) Boise State and could see themselves favored in that matchup.
Before they can look ahead, though, they have to handle business today. Penn State has been one of the best teams in the country all season, and its only two losses have come to (1) Oregon and (6) Ohio State. The Nittany Lions have long been considered the poster child for a program that would most benefit from an expanded playoff field. Sure enough, they’re here in its first year. As for SMU, it’s been quite the come up for the Mustangs. Making the leap from the AAC to the ACC and nearly winning the league in their first year wasn’t the outcome many saw coming, but the Mustangs aren’t interested in your underdog stories. They’ve been determined to prove they belong for years.
Keep it locked here as CBS Sports provides you with live updates, highlights and analysis from Penn State vs. SMU in the College Football Playoff on Saturday.
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