In a time of incessant change, Penn State linebacker Dominic DeLuca is a throwback. The former walk-on's team might be one too. DeLuca was guaranteed nothing when he arrived on campus nearly four years ago without the promise of a scholarship or much of anything else.

Things have not gone SMU's way in the CFP first-round game on Saturday at Penn State. First, the Mustangs went for it on fourth-and-short. Kevin Jennings had a chance to run for the first down but opted to throw a pass that went for an incompletion after a hard hit

DeLuca’s performance matched the likes of fellow Nittany Lions linebackers Shane Conlan and Pete Giftopoulos, who each had two picks of Miami’s Vinny Testaverde to deliver the program’s last national championship in 1986.