Penn State football's James Franklin gives update on Abdul Carter's Fiesta Bowl injury
01/01/2025 02:12 AM
The No. 6 Penn State football is going to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff after taking down the No. 3 Boise State Broncos in the Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium in Glendale Tuesday night.
The Nittany Lions managed to pull off the 31-14 win despite not having star defensive end Abdul Carter for most of the contest. Carter suffered an apparent left arm injury in the second quarter. He tried to brave through the injury but eventually exited the contest and did not return.
Following the game, Penn State football head coach James Franklin spoke about Carter’s injury and his thoughts on whether the defensive star will be able to give it a go in the Nittany Lions’ next game.
Abdul, I don’t know a whole lot and we’ll get that checked out and see obviously number one, the safety and health and welfare of our guys is priority number one,” Franklin told reporters in the postgame press conference (via Lexie Linderman of The Daily Collegian).
“But then, you know, I know Abdul will want to play next week and will do everything in his power to play next week if he’s able to. And we’ll find out and write him out a lot more information than that,” Franklin added.
Carter is undeniably the best weapon and the anchor of Penn State’s defense that finished the regular season ranked fifth in the nation with 15.8 points allowed per game and fifth as well in total yards surrendered per contest at 288.9. Named the 2024 Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Year, Carter’s 11.0 sacks in the 2024 season were tied for seventh in the nation during the regular season. (TJ Parker of the Clemson Tides also had 11.0 sacks).
Even though they did not have Carter for the entire game, the Nittany Lions got the job done on defense. For one, Penn State football held Boise State star running back Ashton Jeanty scoreless and limited him to just 104 rushing yards on 30 carries.
The hope for Penn State is that Carter will be healthy enough to help the team on the field when the Nittany Lions play the winner of the Georgia Bulldogs and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Capital One Orange Bowl.
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