SMU will travel to Penn State in the opening round of the College Football Playoff, and many are wondering how the Texas-based team will handle the frigid temperatures. Mustangs head coach Rhett Lashlee insists he is not concerned.
The weather forecast for Saturday night in State College, Pa., calls for possible snow showers and temperatures in the 20s. During an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” Wednesday, Lashlee was asked how he will prepare his team for the cold weather. The SMU coach shared the message he has delivered to his players.
“Weather’s only gonna be a problem if we allow it to be. We’ve told our guys, they all want to play in the NFL, right?” Lashlee said. “We’re getting into that playoff time of year in the NFL shortly, end of December and January, where the playoffs are gonna go through Arrowhead and they’re gonna go through Buffalo and they’re gonna go through Green Bay. You have to be able to go on the road and play at those places, or you play for those teams, if you want to play championship playoff football at the next level. We get an opportunity to do that in college this week.”
Lashlee then noted how SMU played in cold and wet weather in their 34-31 loss to Clemson in the ACC Championship Game. He said he is more concerned about Penn State’s home-field advantage than the temperature outside.
“I think the crowd and the home-field environment is the biggest problem. Penn State’s gotta play in the exact same weather and the exact same weather conditions we do,” Lashlee said. “The last time I checked they never played a home game on Dec. 21 in 20-degree weather. That’s only gonna be an issue if we make it one.”
"The weather is only gonna be a problem if we allow it to be..
Penn State has to play in the exact same weather and it's only gonna be an issue if we make it one"@rhettlashlee #PMSLive #PonyUp pic.twitter.com/83YKHa3GBY
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) December 18, 2024
With the 12-team College Football Playoff, four teams host a home game in the opening round. That is one of the most intriguing aspects of the new format, as it will force teams that typically play all of their games in warm weather to travel north for conditions they are not accustomed to.
There is no question the weather will make Saturday’s game more difficult for SMU, but Lashlee has the right mindset about it.
