After seemingly endless debate, the 12-team College Football Playoff has arrived, and the first game of Saturday's three-game slate will take place at Penn State's Beaver Stadium where the No. 6 seed Nittany Lions host ACC runner-up and No.

But this first-round Playoff matchup will present SMU with its toughest task to date. SMU’s defense showed how dominant it could be in the second half against Clemson in the ACC title game. If the defense can replicate that kind of performance,

No. 6 Penn State (11-2) will make its College Football Playoff debut Saturday on TNT in a first-round matchup against No. 11 Southern Methodist University (11-2), a game nearly half a century in the making.