Contrary to popular belief, Penn State’s season isn’t quite over yet and there is still a lot of football left to be played. The Nittany Lions have many different bowl destinations in the works and all of them come with their own unique wrinkle. Take a look below at some expert bowl projections.
Sports Illustrated: Music City Bowl in Nashville against Mississippi State
Penn State has somehow avoided the very obvious James Franklin Returns To Nashville storyline that is the Music City Bowl. This has a lot to do with how Penn State’s seasons have gone as of late – both good and bad – but it wouldn’t be October without the prospect of Franklin returning to his Vanderbilt roots nearly a decade later. As for the Mississippi State aspect of things this would have been more fun when Joe Moorhead was still in town but getting another SEC team in a bowl game is never a bad thing. Maybe not the most interesting location or opponent but this could still be a fun few days in Nashville.
CBS Sports: Orange Bowl in Miami against Wake Forest
Wake Forest might not be as sexy as Clemson or others that have popped up in this Orange Bowl spot but a trip to Miami and a trip to the Orange Bowl would be a very solid way to end the season. Penn State has only played Wake Forest once before in program history [a win in 1974] so if nothing else this gets some uniqueness on the board at the end of the year.
Sporting News: Orange Bowl in Miami against Syracuse
Syracuse is having itself a season and the Orange making it all the way to the Orange Bowl would be a fitting conclusion to a great season. Penn State and Syracuse have played each other a boatload of times over the years – 71 times to be exact – with Penn State currently on a five game winning streak. These two programs haven’t faced off since the opening of the Bill O’Brien era at Met Life Stadium in 2013 and plenty has certainly changed since then.
ESPN: ReliaQuest Bowl [Formerly the Outback Bowl] in Tampa or the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, both against LSU
Brian Kelly and LSU taking on Penn State in the Outback Bowl would be a sneaky interesting game for a bowl that now has a name nobody knows and would see everyone making a trip to Tampa. The Tigers haven’t quite found their stride in their first year under Kelly and still have dates with Alabama and Ole Miss left on the schedule so things could get worse before they get better.
247 Network: Citrus Bowl in Orlando against Ole Miss
Ole Miss is currently No. 7 in the nation and maybe one of the offenses that Penn State really doesn’t want to run into this postseason if last weekend is any indication. Everything that coach Lane Kiffin does is fun and entertaining which would make for an interesting build up to this game between he and James Franklin. Alabama is the only big game left on this schedule aside from Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl so Ole Miss could see its stock rise even higher if the right pieces fall into place.
