In order for a team to qualify for the college football bowl season, it must first win six regular-season games. Penn State currently sits at 4-6 with two games remaining in its 2025-26 campaign. This means the Nittany Lions are fighting for a bowl berth and still have everything to play for in the home stretch of the season. 

While the College Football Playoff is off the table, Penn State can earn a spot in numerous of the 36 other postseason games that exist. Naturally, many college football experts and analysts are already looking ahead to December to predict where the Nittany Lions might end up. 

Scott Dochterman of The Athletic has Penn State taking on a bitter rival in Pitt in the Pinstripe Bowl on December 27. The Nittany Lions and Panthers haven’t faced off since the 2019 season, when Penn State won 17-10 in Beaver Stadium. The last time the blue and white played in the Bronx, Sam Ficken drilled the game-winning extra point in a 2014 overtime thriller to defeat Boston College 31-30. 

The game marked the end of James Franklin’s first year as head coach, and was also Penn State’s first bowl game appearance since its postseason sanctions were rolled back.

College Football News also has the Nittany Lions playing in the modern-day House That Ruth Built, against a different ACC opponent in the Clemson Tigers. The teams have only matched up one time in their history, with Clemson beating Penn State in 1987.

CBS Sports predicts that Terry Smith’s squad will play in a slightly warmer location this winter, with Penn State taking on Missouri in the Reliaquest Bowl in Tampa, Florida, on New Year’s Eve. The last time the Nittany Lions played the Tigers from Columbia was in 1980, with Penn State winning the contest 29-21. 

If the teams were to meet up in a bowl game, it would mean that former Penn State quarterback Beau Pribula would have the chance to start against his former team, if cleared from injury. An interesting storyline would also be Eli Drinkwitz, the current Missouri head coach, who has been a popular name linked to the Penn State head coaching vacancy.

Erick Smith of USA Today projects that Penn State will face off against MAC foe Western Michigan in the GameAbove Sports Bowl in Detroit, Michigan, on December 26. The two universities have never played each other in football. The last time the Nittany Lions played at Ford Field in Detroit, Penn State defeated Michigan State 42-0, with Drew Allar throwing for nearly 300 yards in the winning effort.

ESPN and Sports Illustrated currently do not list Penn State in their bowl projections.