James Franklin has his Penn State team into the College Football Playoff quarterfinals. In fact, the Nittany Lions are a healthy favorite against Boise State, but that doesn’t mean it will be easy.

Boise State secured a first-round bye after winning a conference championship, and the Broncos are not your average Mountain West champ. Boise went toe-to-toe with Oregin — inside Autzen Stadium — early in the season and has leaned on its Heisman finalist all year long.

That player is star running back Ashton Jeanty. He led the country this year with 2,497 rushing yards, averaging just shy of 200 yards per game, to go with 29 touchdowns and averaging over 7 yards per carry.

On Monday, Franklin said everything Boise State does starts and ends with Jeanty. His contributions have helped the Broncos average 39.1 points per game, the 3rd-best scoring mark in the country.

Franklin went on to describe Jeanty as “a beast” when it comes to his production and durability. He also sees a RB who knows how to handle the spotlight and take care of his body during the rigors of a season.

That doesn’t mean it will come easy against Penn State. The Nittany Lions have been efficient at stopping the run all year, giving up just 3.11 yards per carry and ranking 7th nationally with 100.36 rushing yards allowed all season long.

Heading into the matchup, DraftKings has Penn State as an 11-point favorite for the Fiesta Bowl. Fans can get in on the Nittany Lion action with our Maryland betting sites this postseason.

We’ll see if Penn State can stop Jeanty and deliver the win to roll into the semifinals.