Penn State is finally in the College Football Playoff, punching its ticket as the No. 6 seed in the first-ever 12-team bracket. And with that appearance, the Nittany Lions have punched their inaugural CFP victory.

In a dominant performance, James Franklin’s group jumped out to a 14-0 lead with a pair of pick-6s. They never looked back from that start by building a 28-0 halftime lead and eventually cruising to a 38-10 win.

Even for a team that was favored at home, few fans expected the Nittany Lions to be able to play their reserves in the Playoff. And with the win, Penn State is safely through to the Fiesta Bowl and a matchup with Boise State in the quarterfinals.

Here are the key takeaways from Penn State’s impressive CFP opening win over the Mustangs:

Defense, defense, defense

By the time Penn State’s offense broke through, it was already a 14-0 lead for the Nittany Lions. That’s because the defense came up with a pair of pick-6s to start the game while making the situation a living hell for SMU QB Kevin Jennings.

Dominic DeLuca will go down as the star of this one after he opened the scoring with a pick-6 off an interception and quick return. He would later add another interception off an impressive individual effort after batting the pass into the air before securing the pick.

DeLuca would round out his performance with 5 total tackles and half a tackle for loss. As a unit, the Nittany Lions racked up 11 total TFLs.

While DeLuca was the star, Tony Rojas provided the play of the game for the Nittany Lions. His pick-6 was particularly impressive as he broke tackles and carved out a brilliant 59-yard return on his touchdown.

Dedicated ground attack holds up

Coming into this game, it was always going to be interesting to see how Penn State’s offense approached the SMU defense. The Mustangs gave up just 93.38 yards on the ground per game during the regular season, putting SMU as the only ACC team to allow less than 100 yards per game.

Teams also averaged just 2.74 yards per carry against SMU, a mark that tied for 2nd-best nationally (Indiana). The Mustangs allowed just 10 rushing touchdowns all year long which was also a top-10 mark in the country.

However, that defense was no match for Andy Kotelnicki’s offensive approach. The Nittany Lions went back to the ground game time and time again with Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, and they completely wore down SMU’s defensive front.

As a team, the Nittany Lions racked up 189 rushing yards and averaged 4.7 yards per carry in the game. They also scored 3 rushing touchdowns with Allen leading the way with 2 and Singleton adding the other.

That ground attack will get another chance to flex its muscles moving forward with a quarterfinal matchup vs. Boise State. The Broncos are giving up 115.08 yards per game on the ground, and you can bet Kotelnicki will be looking to take advantage.

Will James Franklin’s top-10 boogeyman return?

It is no secret that Franklin has had his issues with top-10 teams. In fact, he entered Saturday’s Playoff game with a 3-24 overall mark against AP top-10 teams in his career

In a weird quirk, Franklin did not get a chance to improve that mark during Saturday’s game. Though the 11-seed for the Playoff, SMU checked in at No. 12 on the final AP Poll.

That all changes in the quarterfinals with Boise State finishing the year No. 8 overall. However, the fact that game comes against a Mountain West foe could bode well for Franklin’s chances.

The Nittany Lions will have a distinct talent advantage in the next round, and the fact it will be a neutral site contest in the Fiesta Bowl will give Penn State faithful the chance to travel and support their team. We’ll see how it works out on New Year’s Eve.