Penn State Football: Bowl Projections Following The Nittany Lions’ 4-0 Start

Penn State sits at 4-0 on the year with its toughest games still ahead. Even though much of the Nittany Lions’ season is still to be determined, it’s never too soon to start looking towards bowl season. Meetings against Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio State in the coming weeks will inform everyone a lot about what is to come for Penn State in the final months of the year but no time like the present to shoot for the postseason stars.

Action Network: USC in Rose Bowl

Obviously at this point of the year bowl projections are really just a guess at how the vast majority of the year is going to go. Of course this is generally true as the season goes along but at this point in the season nobody really knows how good the not-quite-elite are. It’s safe to assume certain things out of Ohio State judging by what we’ve already seen, but nearly everyone else is up in the air still. Penn State heading to the Rose Bowl is about as good as any reasonable prediction is going to get. Sure, Penn State could beat Michigan and Ohio State – or get help from the rest of the conference – and find itself in the playoff picture, but that’s going to take more than a bit of imaginative thinking than anyone has right now.

All of that aside USC would still be a fun matchup and the Rose Bowl is never a bad time. Penn State fans will need to enjoy all the Rose Bowl trips they can take before it feels normal during the occasional UCLA game once the Bruins join the Big Ten in a few years.

Yahoo!, 247 Network, CBS and ESPN: NC State in Orange Bowl

NC State would at least be a change of pace in Penn State’s postseason opponents over the last 10 years. The Orange Bowl is also nothing to scoff at and would be the first return trip in ages since the 2006 edition of the game. We should find out real quick if NC State is worth the No. 10 ranking as the Wolf Pack take on Clemson this weekend. NC State maybe suffers from brand recognition for some fans but if they make it to the Orange Bowl they will have earned the respect they’re owed in a game like this.

ESPN: Kentucky in Citrus Bowl

This game is kind of a dud from the perspective of “Things we just saw” but watching a retooled Will Levis take on his old team wouldn’t be dull. The game itself is the least interesting in terms of location and recency of opponent – which might make this not happen in the first place – but it’s hard to argue with the intrigue of Clifford v. Levis.