2024 Fiesta Bowl (December)
It was also one of the College Football Playoff (CFP) quarterfinal games, beginning at approximately 5:30 p.m. MST and airing on ESPN.The 2024 Fiesta Bowl was the first-ever quarterfinal game for the College Football Playoff (CFP).The playoff's 11th seed, SMU (ranked 10th in the final CFP poll), and sixth seed, Penn State (ranked fourth in the final CFP poll), met on December 21 for the other spot in the Fiesta Bowl,[5][6] with Penn State winning by a score of 38–10.The Nittany Lions qualified for the Big Ten Championship Game, which they fell to top-ranked Oregon 45–37.Facing SMU in a first-round game, Penn State took a 28–0 lead into halftime en route to a 38–10 victory.