(WHTM) — Penn State finished the regular season with a 10-2 record earning the Nittany Lions the No. 8 spot in the College Football Playoff rankings. With a top-eight ranking, PSU should find themselves in a New Years Six Bowl Game.
College football experts are almost unanimous in saying the Nittany Lions will play in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 2, 2023. There are still some who think the Rose Bowl is also possible, depending on what happens with Ohio State.
Before Penn State’s win over Michigan State, the Nittany Lions looked poised to head to the Citrus Bowl. Some losses from other Top 10 teams pushed Penn State onto the radars of better bowl games.
Below are the possible bowl games for the Nittany Lions.
Cotton Bowl (Arlington, Texas) – Jan. 2, 2023
The Nittany Lions are most likely to play in the Cotton Bowl as the at-large berth. Alabama and Tennessee would get preferred billing in the other New Years Six games not in the CFP.
Experts from ESPN suggest the Nittany Lions would play Tulane in the Cotton Bowl, who would need to win their conference championship against UCF this weekend.
The Nittany Lions last played in the Cotton Bowl in 2019, when Micah Parsons was named Defensive Player of the Game.
The Cotton Bowl is played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Jan. 2 at 1 p.m. and broadcast live on ESPN.
Rose Bowl (Pasadena, Cali.) – Jan. 2, 2023
The Rose Bowl is still in play if you follow the logic of the bowl selection committee. Spots in the Rose Bowl traditionally go to the highest-ranked Big Ten and Pac-12 teams, not playing in the college football playoff.
There are multiple ways a Rose Bowl selection could happen. If both Michigan and Ohio State make it into the College Football Playoff, Penn State would be the Rose Bowl selection.
If Ohio State misses out on the CFP (which is more likely to happen), the Buckeyes would be the highest-ranked Big Ten team left. (This assumes Michigan is in the top-four teams after the Big Ten Championship, aka. they win the conference championship).
The problem for the Rose Bowl with taking Ohio State is that the Buckeyes just played in the game last season against Utah.
Perhaps the Rose Bowl would like a fresh face. The Nittany Lions haven’t played in Pasadena since 2016. If Penn State winds up in the Rose Bowl, experts predict they would play Washington. (In this case, Ohio State would be in the Orange Bowl against Clemson).
The Rose Bowl is played in Pasadena, California on Jan. 2 at 5 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN. The Rose Bowl Parade will be broadcast on abc.
Citrus Bowl (Orlando, Fla.) – Jan. 2, 2023
The Citrus Bowl, although played on Monday, Jan. 2, is not considered a New Years Six Bowl Game.
This was the most likely spot for the Nittany Lions to end up before Clemson, Oregon and LSU all lost in the final game of the regular season.
The Citrus Bowl will be played at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida on Jan. 2 at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN.