Penn State lost to Michigan this past weekend which changed the Nittany Lions’ overall record but not too much in the way of postseason bowl projections. The Nittany Lions could pick up win No. 7 on Saturday against Rutgers before heading out to East Lansing for one last shot at a Top 10 team in Michigan State. That result could change the picture a bit, but for now two main bowls are slowly coming into frame for the Nittany Lions.
CBS: Music City Bowl [Nashville] vs Arkansas
Like last week, a return trip to James Franklin’s old stomping grounds right before he does – or does not – leave Penn State would be nothing if not an entertaining storyline. Arkansas is also a unique opponent in the grand scheme of teams Penn State has played over the years. Nashville is cool and the storylines are interesting. You could do a lot worse than this.
Athlon: Las Vegas Bowl vs Arizona State
No change here although Las Vegas isn’t quite as popular of a pick as before among the projections so it only made one appearance this week. Arizona State is an interesting opponent and would put Franklin up against longtime NFL coach Herm Edwards. Penn State has plenty of former NFL coaches on its staff, so a fun a little storyline to be had here.
Action Sports Network: Outback Bowl [Tampa] vs Kentucky
If you’re going to go to a bowl game that isn’t a fancy New Years Six bowl it may as well be in Florida where it is much warmer. I say this as it starts to flurry outside in State College. The Will Levis factor makes this game interesting and even if Tampa isn’t the most exciting place in Florida – at least it’s warm.
ESPN: Pinstripe Bowl [New York City] vs Virginia
ESPN has two projections because it has two different people picking bowls. The Pinstripe Bowl would take Franklin back to his first bowl at Penn State and Virginia would finally be playing the Nittany Lions after that return trip to State College never happened following their 2012 meeting. UVA is something of a regional foe so getting both teams to play at Yankee Stadium would be fun. The Pinstripe Bowl was a great time and Penn State should have a good showing of fans being in a key alumni base. Maybe not exciting, but you could worse than New York.
ESPN: Music City Bowl vs Arkansas
The other ESPN choice is another trip to Nashville to face Arkansas. Not much to add here that wasn’t already said before.
247 Sports: Pinstripe Bowl vs Virginia
The closer the season gets to its conclusion the more opponents and locations come into the picture. The next two weeks will only further that focus, and New York gets a second nod from the 247 Network as well as Virginia. A chilly bowl, but probably a quick and easy trip as well.
