Penn State made a decisive early move against SMU last week, leaving its offense on the field for a pivotal 4th-and-1 attempt from its own 19-yard line. The conversion fell short, primarily because of a misplayed snap, and the Mustangs took over down 14-0 in prime position to reframe the game.

Here's a complete schedule of the College Football Playoff, including kickoff times and TV channel information.

In a Christmas Eve edition of "Always College Football," Greg McElroy had Josh Pate on to discuss the next round of playoff games. Penn State will face No. 3 Boise State and Heisman runner-up Ashton Jeanty on New Year's Eve. Pate expects Penn State to make a statement in that game.

No. 5 Texas faces No. 4 Arizona State in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff. Here are all the game details Longhorn fans need to know.

"Penn State is playing their best football," Klatt said. "They are getting better, and everything that James Franklin has hoped for has started to come to fruition, and now they are going to have a chance to play 60 minutes for the right to go to the college football semifinals."

Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith and Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love both moved up our list after impressive first-round performances

College football's 12-team playoff rollout was spoiled by the NFL, with the Texans-Chiefs getting 15.5 million viewers while the SMU-Penn State game averaged 6.4 million. The Steelers-Ravens game drew 15.