What SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee said about Penn State ahead of College Football Playoff game

SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee has led the Mustangs to an ACC title game appearance and an 11-2 record this season, and will now bring his team to Beaver Stadium Saturday to take on Penn State in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

Lashlee met with the media Tuesday after his team’s practice to discuss the Nittany Lions and the game.

Here’s everything Lashlee said about PSU, playing in Beaver Stadium and more.

On playing in a hostile environment

“We’ll do the best we can. We went indoor and cranked up the noise for half of practice for the offense, and you do the best you can. We’ve not been in this environment. We’ve had some good environments. I mean, even the championship game a week ago is helpful, but there’s really nothing you can do to prepare for it. You just got to get there. You’ve got to adjust to it and go compete. And so we’re doing all the all the normal things you do to try to prepare, but obviously it’s a huge home field advantage, and that’s why they earn the right to be at home.”

On preparing for the weather

“I’m disappointed, we had a really nice day today. Leading up to the game in Charlotte, we had cold days, which, we go in the morning, so we were able to practice in 30s and 40s. And I think that helped us. I don’t think weather was an issue in Charlotte when it’s around 35-37 when the game ended. And I think our guys handled it great. This going to be different, probably 25 or somewhat around there, I don’t really know. Here’s the deal, they’re playing in it the same way that we are. They got to play in it just like we do. And I don’t think they played a game on December 21 at home before either. I don’t think the weather is a big deal. Both teams are playing in the same conditions, whether there’s snow or not snow, whether it’s really cold or just kind of cold. It is what it is. These guys — and I know our guys do, and I know their guys do — aspire to play in the NFL. They aspire to play championship playoff football, which we’re getting to do right now. Well, this January, guess what? The playoffs are going to go through Arrowhead (Stadium) in Kansas City, and they’re going to go through Buffalo, and they’re going to go through Lambeau (Field), just like they do most years. And you’re either on one of those teams, if you’re in the playoffs, or you’re playing one of those teams, and the best in the world do it. I know the Chiefs last year had that game that was like, 10 degrees or whatever. And Rashee Rice, who had played here, didn’t like cold weather. You know what he did? He went out and played really well. And so our guys have to do that. The weather is only going to be an issue if we allow it to be an issue. So we know it’s going to be really cold. It’s going to be really cold for them as well. So it’s our 11 versus their 11, and that’s going to decide the game.”

On preparing for PSU TE Tyler Warren

“I don’t know if you defend him. I think you try to just contain him and slow him down a little bit. He’s going to get his. He’s a matchup problem. If you play man, he’s definitely a matchup problem. ... If you play zone, he’s still a matchup problem because he’s so big, and all zone becomes man once the ball is in the air anyways. ... They do a really good job of moving him around, he plays a bunch of different places. It’s kind of like when we had Rashee Rice, he was going to get his catches. And so obviously, we hope that we can keep him from getting touchdowns and explosives. But he’s special. There’s a reason he won the Mackey Award, and he can do all the things he can do, and he’s got a big-time NFL career ahead of him. So we definitely got to be aware of where he is. Rarely do you see a tight end where the offense kind of runs through them, and to some degree, that’s what they do with him. So I don’t think we’re going to stop him by any means, but maybe we can make it hard on him, maybe we can slow him down. Maybe we can keep him from just totally dominating the game and try to make some other guys have to make some plays.”

On what’s stood out about PSU DE Abdul Carter

“Abdul Carter is the best defensive player we played in my time at SMU, based on the film I’ve seen. He’s a problem. And the thing is, he’s not the only problem on their defense. They’re really good on defense. The other couple of ends are really special. If they didn’t have Abdul, we’d be worried about them. We are worried about them. But Abdul is so dominant. Their team speed stands out on defense. You watch last year, he played more linebacker, so you watch a game from last year, and you see him at linebacker, and he is just incredible. He’s physical, he flies around and makes plays, and then they move him to defensive end this year, and he’s got as good a get off as anybody in college football. There’s a reason he’s a top five, top 10 pick in the upcoming draft. And on top of it, our tackles have to deal with the noise of trying to to hear the snap count. And so there’s a lot of things in his favor that he doesn’t need, on top of the fact that he’s just probably as talented of a pass rusher as there is. But that’s not all he is. He’s an all-around player, and what really stands out to me is his motor, he plays the game the right way. You got a lot of respect for how hard he plays. He’ll chase down plays from the back side. Just like we got issues with Tyler Warren and a lot of other guys on their offense, we’ve got our work cut out for us on their defensive front and really their overall team speed on defense.”

On facing Penn State running backs Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton

“When you run for 300 yards on Oregon, you’re pretty good. And I remember recruiting Kaytron Allen when we were at Miami when he was coming out of high school. Big, physical back. And both those guys have done a really nice job for them. And they compliment each other with that one-two punch. I think what they do on offense so well is, and I know (Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki) talked about it. It’s kind of what I grew up under Gus Malzahn, learning the philosophy of, look we’re going to do what we do. They end up running the same couple of run plays over and over. It’s just they window dress it and get to it a bunch of different ways. And so whether they shift in motion or give you unique pictures to still run inside zone or counter or stretch or whatever the run plays are. To them, they’re running the same plays over and over again, but to the defense, they’re presenting different pictures. And I think that’s what good offenses do. And so that’s the challenge. It’s one thing to say, OK, we’ve got to stop really good players with a really good O-line, and they have a big-time tight end that can hurt you in play action, and a quarterback, etc. So it’s hard to just sell out to the run. That’s hard enough. But then when they’re going to give you different pictures, they’re going to move and shift and do all the things they do to just gain a slight advantage here or there, it makes it even tougher. But that’s the assignment. This game is going to come down to the same thing most of our games have come down to — the more physical team who can win the run game, the team that can value the football in the turnover margin, and the team that can be the most explosive, or limit explosives, usually is going to win the football game. And this one’s going to be no different. So we’ve got to find a way to slow those guys down and not let them just control the game flow at all times with with what they want to do on offense.”