Penn State might have its biggest regular season games behind it but that doesn’t mean the Nittany Lions don’t have a postseason destination to look forward to. With Penn State favored to win each of its last two games, a date with someone in a New Year’s Six Bowl is still very much on the table and most major outlets are expecting that to happen. The only question is who and where? Here are this week’s projections.
USA Today and ESPN: Fiesta Bowl against Washington or Oregon.
The Fiesta Bowl is a fun game and Washington and Oregon are interesting opponents in any other year than right before joining Penn State’s schedule on a regular basis. That being said beating either of these teams would be a feather in the cap of a Nittany Lion team looking to say that it can still beat the league’s best. Even if we don’t think of these two programs as Big Ten schools, well, get used to it. Washington is on Penn State’s schedule at Beaver Stadium in 2024, the Ducks don’t make the visit until later on down the road in 2025.
Bleacher Report: Cotton Bowl against Alabama
Alabama continues to lurk around just outside the College Football Playoff Top 4 and isn’t expected to make the field but could give Penn State quite the highly rated opponent to face if it doesn’t. It won’t matter where this game is played it would be a fun one to watch and a meaningful moment for Penn State if it could pick up the win heading into a new-look Big Ten and heading into an expanded playoff field in 2024. Playing this game in Dallas would be a bit more friendly for a neutral game field than in Atlanta but time will tell how much Penn State fans are willing to travel after already being disappointed by big games twice this year. The Tide are headed to the SEC title game, a defining moment for the playoff field this season.
CBS, Action Network, ESPN: Peach Bowl against Alabama, Tulane or Ole Miss
The Peach Bowl has been the slight favorite to send Penn State an invite this postseason; it has just been a matter of who the opponent will be. Tulane is the least exciting but most winnable game of the bunch while Alabama and Ole Miss both have the potential to be a much more interesting matchup. The Tide are still the if-you-got-your-pick opponent but Penn State taking on Ole Miss would be an interesting clash in styles. The Rebels are led by the always interesting Lane Kiffin and actually beat Tulane 37-20 earlier in the year. Don’t overlook the Green Wave though; they did beat USC in the last year’s Cotton Bowl.
