James Franklin and Penn State opened up the Fiesta Bowl with a quick 14-0 lead in the first quarter. The Nittany Lions also had a chance to pile on after a quick fumble recovery from Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty.

Unfortunately, a botched handoff exchange by Penn State gave the ball right back to Boise State. After that, the Broncos found some footing and were able to get a few stops on defense, though some of those stops were self-inflicted by the Nittany Lions.

Penn State entered the break with a 17-7 lead but certainly felt like some opportunities were left on the field. That’s because Penn State had 4 penalties for 35 yards in the first half alone, and it was clearly the area that most bothered Franklin.

“We just got to clean up the penalties, we’re making it too difficult on ourselves with the negative yardage plays and putting us in long-yardage situations,” said Franklin at his halftime interview. “We’ve just got to get that cleaned up and then we’ll be fine.”

Franklin has a point with the offense otherwise looking solid behind Drew Allar’s 144 yards and 2 touchdowns. Kaytron Allen has also been the leader in the backfield thus far with 76 yards on 10 carries and some tough runs against the Broncos.