SMU vs. Penn State: College Football Playoff Box score, stats and game summary feat. Drew Allar

The SMU Mustangs faced the Penn State Nittany Lions in Saturday's first round of the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff.

No. 11 SMU (11-2) entered the game after a 34-31 loss in the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship game. No. 6 Penn State had a 45-37 loss versus Oregon in the Big Ten Conference Championship game.

The Nittany Lions came out swinging in the first half, taking a 28-0 lead into the locker rooms at halftime. Penn State's defense forced three turnovers while holding the Mustangs scoreless.

Penn State carried their momentum into the second half, exchanging a field goal and a touchdown. Thanks to a dominant first-half performance, Penn State defeated SMU 38-10 and will advance to the Fiesta Bowl to take on the Boise State Broncos.

Here are the game stats, box scores and summaries from this first-round College Football Playoff matchup.

SMU vs. Penn State: Box score

Team	1Q	2Q	3Q	4Q	Final
SMU	0	0	3	7	10
Penn State	7	21	3	7	38

SMU player stats

Quarterback:

Player	Comp.	Att.	Pass. YDS	Pass. TD	INT	Carries	Rush YDS	Rush TD
Kevin Jennings	20	36	195	1	3	8	-25	0

Rushing and receiving:

Player	Carries	Rush YDS	Rush TD	Reception	Rec. YDS	Rec. TD
Brashard Smith	18	62	0	4	24	0
LJ Johnson Jr.	6	26	0	1	2	0
Derrick McFall	2	0	0	0	0	0
Key’Shawn Smith	1	-2	0	2	15	0
Roderick Daniels Jr.	1	-3	0	4	64	1
Jordan Hudson	0	0	0	4	40	0
Matthew Hibner	0	0	0	2	38	0
Moochie Dixon	0	0	0	1	8	0
Stone Eby	0	0	0	1	6	0
Romello Brinson	0	0	0	1	-2	0

Kicking:

Player	Extra Points	FG	Total Points
Collin Rogers	1/1	1/2	4

Penn State player stats

Quarterback:

Player	Comp.	Att	Pass. YDS	Pass. TD	INT	Carries	Rush YDS	Rush TD
Drew Allar	13	22	127	0	0	7	10	0
Ethan Grunkmeyer	1	2	9	0	1	0	0	0

Rushing and receiving:

Player	Carries	Rush YDS	Rush TD	Reception	Rec. YDS	Rec. TD
Nicholas Singleton	14	90	1	2	7	0
Kaytron Allen	11	70	2	2	28	0
Quinton Martin Jr.	3	7	0	0	0	0
Tyler Warren	1	6	0	4	33	0
Corey Smith	4	6	0	0	0	0
Harrison Wallace III	0	0	0	4	48	0
Khalil Dinkins	0	0	0	1	13	0
Liam Clifford	0	0	0	1	7	0

Kicking:

Player	Extra Points	FG	Total Points
Ryan Barker	5/5	1/1	8

SMU vs. Penn State: Game summary

The Nittany Lions scored the lone points of the first half as junior linebacker Dominic DeLuca grabbed an interception and returned it 23 yards for a touchdown to give Penn State a 7-0 lead. In the second quarter, Kevin Jennings threw a second pick-six, this time to sophomore linebacker Tony Rojas, to extend Penn State's lead to 14-0.

After turning the ball over on downs, Penn State forced a third interception and capitalized with their first offensive score as Kaytron Allen broke free for a 25-yard touchdown scamper.

The Nittany Lions forced another turnover on downs and capitalized on the short field with a short rushing touchdown from Nicholas Singleton to take a 28-0 lead into the half.

SMU opened the second half with a promising drive but was held to just a field goal, cutting Penn State's sizeable lead to 28-3. The Nittany Lions responded with a field goal of their own to extend their lead to 31-3 entering the fourth quarter. The two sides exchanged touchdowns in the final period, but the Mustangs were unable to muster any kind of comeback effort.