Penn State's Latest Bowl Projections: Feeling Peachy?
Penn State's bowl projections after Week 12 lean decidedly toward a New Year's 6 game, which appears almost certain if the Nittany Lions beat Michigan State to finish 10-2. The past four times it won 10 regular-season games, Penn State went to New Year's 6 bowls. That includes two trips to the Rose Bowl (2016, 2022) and appearances in the Fiesta Bowl (2017) and Cotton Bowl (2019).
This season, Penn State could play in one of three New Year's 6 bowl games: the Cotton (Dec. 29 near Dallas), the Peach (Dec. 30 in Atlanta) and the Fiesta (Jan. 1 near Phoenix). The Rose and Sugar bowls will host College Football Playoff games, and Penn State is the longest of longshots for the Orange Bowl, which will host an ACC team vs. the highest-ranked at-large team from the Big Ten or SEC.
Here's where Penn State lands in the latest rounds of college football bowl projections before Rivalry Week.
RELATED: First look at Penn State vs. Michigan State
ESPN makes two votes for Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl. Kyle Bonagura projects the Lions playing Oregon, while Mark Schlabach has them meeting Washington. That would be an interesting decision, since Penn State faced Washington in the 2017 Fiesta Bowl and the two teams will meet as Big Ten opponents next season in State College.
Action Network's Brett McMurphy projects Penn State to the Peach Bowl against Group of 5 opponent Tulane. McMurphy kept his projection the same as last week.
CBS Sports' Jerry Palm also sends Penn State to Atlanta for the Peach Bowl but against SEC opponent Missouri. The Lions and Tigers haven't played since 1980, when Penn State won 28-21 in Columbia. Penn State also defeated Missouri 10-3 in the 1970 Orange Bowl.
Add another vote for Penn State-Missouri in the Peach Bowl from the Detroit Free Press.
Brad Crawford of 247Sports likes Penn State to the Peach Bowl as well, projecting Tulane as the opponent. As does the Sporting News' Bill Bender.
Bleacher Report votes for a blue-blood matchup in the Cotton Bowl: Penn State vs. Alabama, programs ranked third and seventh on college football's all-time wins list.
Penn State caps the regular season on Friday at Detroit's Ford Field, where it will meet Michigan State. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
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