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.