Beaver Stadium is set to transform as part of a multi-year renovation project, starting this winter.
Penn State will first get to give its current form one major sendoff at full capacity.
The Nittany Lions received the No. 6 seed in the newly expanded 12-team College Football Playoff on Sunday. They will host No. 11 seed SMU at noon on Dec. 21 in Happy Valley. TNT will carry the broadcast.
Tickets will go on sale Monday with season ticket holders and Nittany Lion Club members getting access to a presale from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The public sale will begin at 2:30 p.m.
Penn State was not heavily penalized for Saturday night’s 45-37 loss to No. 1 Oregon in the Big Ten championship. The Lions came in at No. 4 in the CFP committee’s final ranking, landing the six seed because the top four spots — and the first-round byes that come with them — are reserved for conference champions.
SMU, meanwhile, was the last team to make the field, edging out Alabama for the final at-large berth after a comeback bid fell short on a walk-off 55-yard field goal by Clemson in Saturday night’s ACC championship. The Mustangs finished 10th in the committee’s rankings.
Both the Lions and Mustangs enter the game with 11-2 records as a conference runner-up. It will be the first meeting between the programs since Penn State prevailed 26-21 at home in 1978.
That 1978 season saw the Lions ultimately play for the national championship, coming up just short against Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. That team, led by Heisman Trophy runner-up Chuck Fusina, played just 12 games total, finishing 11-1.
The 2024 Lions have already played 13 and will have to play the maximum possible 17 games to win the national title.
If Penn State can get past SMU, the Lions will face third-seeded Boise State (12-1) in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Eve.
But while the Mustangs don’t have the same historic success as Alabama, that doesn’t mean the Mustangs will be an easy out.
Third-year coach Rhett Lashlee has a resume as a well-regarded offensive coordinator. Before taking over at SMU, he was hired to run the offense at Miami by then-head coach Manny Diaz, Penn State’s former defensive coordinator.
Lashlee has gone 29-11 leading the Mustangs, winning the American Athletic Conference title last season before the program got an invitation to the ACC and went 8-0 in their new league.
SMU’s only regular season loss came at home against BYU back in September. The Mustangs then won nine straight before Saturday night’s narrow loss.
Under Lashlee this season, SMU is ranked sixth in the nation in scoring offense (38.5 ppg) and 20th in total offense (443.1). Quarterback Kevin Jennings topped 3,000 yards passing for the season on Saturday and has 22 touchdowns while Brashad Smith has 1,270 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground.
Other first round matchups:
• No. 10 seed Indiana at No. 7 seed Notre Dame, 8 p.m., Dec. 20, ABC/ESPN. Winner plays No. 2 seed Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1.
• No. 12 seed Clemson at No. 5 seed Texas, 4 p.m., Dec. 21, TNT. Winner plays No. 4 seed Arizona State in the Peach Bowl on Jan. 1.
• No. 9 seed Tennessee at No. 8 seed Ohio State, 8 p.m., Dec. 21, ABC/ESPN. Winner plays No. 1 seed Oregon in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1.
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