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Penn State bowl projections: Where are the Lions slotted to play now?

Greg Pickelby:Greg Pickel•12/04/22•

GregPickel

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The Penn State Nittany Lion mascot leads the cheerleaders onto the field ahead of the team prior to the college football game between the Central Michigan Chippewas and the Penn State Nittany Lions on September 24,2022, at Beaver Stadium in University Park, PA. (Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Penn State will learn today where it will go in the postseason. The Nittany Lions were No. 8 in the penultimate College Football Playoff rankings, which were released on Tuesday. Today, the final top-25 will be revealed, and that will help sort out where each team will play in a bowl game, including head coach James Franklin’s team.

“I’m really proud,” Franklin said last Saturday night after the Lions beat Michigan State 35-16. “You think about where this team started, in terms of how people talked about us in preseason, to where we finished, I think inside the top 10 at the end of the regular season and then we still have one game left to play. We’re looking forward to seeing where we’ll end up.

“Obviously you want to try to go to the biggest games you possibly can go to. I think it’s still important to go to the biggest and the best games you possibly can in the postseason, and whether that is the New Years six bowl game or whatever, there’s still value in it.”

Ahead of the announcement, here is where national experts project the Lions to go.

Penn State bowl projections after conference championship weekend

Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach, ESPN: Penn State vs Utah in the Rose Bowl. (Jan. 2)

Jerry Palm, CBS Sports: Penn State vs. Utah in the Rose Bowl.

Brett McMurphy, Action Network: PSU vs. Utah in the Rose Bowl

Bill Bender, Sporting News: Penn State vs. Utah in the Rose Bowl.

College Football News: PSU vs. Utah in the Rose Bowl.

Erick Smith, USA Today: Penn State vs. Utah in the Rose Bowl.

Where will the Lions go?

At this point, the Lions appear to be set to head to the Rose Bowl. Conference championship Saturday did not change anything for Penn State. Multiple media reports said previously that Ohio State preferred the Orange Bowl and the Rose Bowl preferred the Lions. Utah will be the opponent after it beat USC to win the PAC-12 on Friday night.

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