Boise State Broncos assistant head coach Stacy Collins spent two seasons with the Penn State Nittany Lions. "Coach Collins was my guy," Penn State's Dom DeLuca said.

For starters, there’s a Heisman Trophy runner-up (Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty), the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year (Penn State’s Abdul Carter) and the Mackey Award winner (Penn State’s Tyler Warren) in the game.

In the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff, the No. 5 Penn State Nittany Lions (12-2) will play the No. 8 Boise State Broncos (12-1) in the Fiesta Bowl, starting at 7:30 p.m. ET in

Throughout Collins' 27-year coaching career, 18 of them were spent as a special teams coordinator, with two of his favorite years arriving during his time in Happy Valley.

Following its 38-10 win over SMU in the first round of the College Football Playoff, Penn State ascended to No. 7 in ESPN's SP+ defensive rankings. Even with the nation's best running back in Ashton Jeanty, Boise State's offense ranks 13th.

For as much as Penn State wants to keep everything as normal as possible this week before departing on Saturday for the Fiesta Bowl, the one person likely determining whether the

Ashton Jeanty, the Boise State running back and Heisman Trophy runner-up, spoke about the challenge of facing Penn State in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal.