Latest Bowl Projections Show Penn State Clinging To A New Year’s Six Game
Another disappointing loss to Ohio State dropped the Nittany Lions back to No. 16 in the AP Top 25 Poll, creating a more puzzling forecast for Penn State’s bowl projection. While the loss did knock Penn State out of playoff contention, the Nittany Lions still have a path to a New Year’s Six bowl game if they were to win out.
Here’s where analysts project Penn State to land at the conclusion of the regular season:
Sticking with its original predictions, CBS Sports, 24/7 Sports, and Bleacher Report all project that Penn State will square off against Wake Forest in the Orange Bowl on December 30 in Miami, Florida. Last year’s Orange Bowl was a part of the College Football Playoff in which Georgia took down Michigan to advance to the National Championship.
Wake Forest is currently 6-2 on the season with a 2-2 conference record. The Demon Deacons were previously ranked No. 10 before dropping 10 spots following their shocking 27-point loss to unranked Louisville.
Yahoo! Sports and College Football News believe that for the second time in three years the Nittany Lions will head south for the Cotton Bowl Classic, this time taking on the UCF Knights. Penn State beat Memphis 53-39 in the 2019 Cotton Bowl, marking its last bowl game victory. UCF is 6-2 on the season and ranked No. 25 in the latest AP Poll.
Brett McMurphy from Action Network projects that the Nittany Lions will play against the LSU Tigers in the Citrus Bowl on January 2. Penn State last played in the Citrus Bowl in January 2019, putting up a 27-24 loss to Kentucky.
LSU is currently one spot ahead of the Nittany Lions at No. 15 in the AP Poll. The Tigers have a big test ahead of them as they get set to host No. 6 Alabama on Saturday, November 5.
There’s still four more games to be played before bowl season, but based on current projections, the Nittany Lions would have to win out if they wish to play in a New Year’s Six bowl game. A date with Wake Forest in the Orange Bowl is most likely, but a lot can happen between now and the end of the season that’ll impact Penn State’s postseason destination.
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