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Penn State bowl projections: Where the Nittany Lions are slotted ahead of Week 10

Greg Pickelby:Greg Pickel•11/01/21•

GregPickel

Penn State football flags
Runners take the Penn State football flags across the field at Ohio State. BWI photo/Steve Manuel

Penn State is still searching for win No. 6 to secure bowl eligibility, but that hasn’t kept national experts from including the Nittany Lions in their postseason projections.

Head coach James Franklin’s team was projected to play in a New Year’s Six bowl or maybe even the College Football Playoff at the start of October, but at the beginning of the year’s penultimate month, the team is looking at something a little further down the postseason pecking order list following three straight losses to Iowa, Illinois, and Ohio State.

No matter, a chance to grow in a bowl game is of utmost importance for this team, especially considering how many starters it will likely have to replace next fall. Here’s a rundown of where they could do it before a Week 10 trip to Maryland (3:30, FS1) that could net what has been an elusive sixth victory of the season.

Expert bowl projections for Penn State

Mike Huguenin of On3: Outback Bowl vs. Kentucky

Stewart Mandel of The Athletic: Outback Bowl vs. Kentucky

Jerry Palm of CBS Sports: Pinstripe Bowl vs. Virginia Tech

College Football News Staff: Outback Bowl vs. Ole Miss

Kyle Bonagua of ESPN: Music City Bowl vs. Arkansas

Mark Schlabach of ESPN: Music City Bowl vs. LSU

Action Network: Las Vegas Bowl vs. Oregon State

Saturday Tradition: Music City Bowl vs. Tennessee

BWI’s take:

Penn State has certainly dropped down the totem pole in this week’s rundown. That’s evident by the Music City and Pinstripe Bowls joining the Las Vegas Bowl as possibilities for the Nittany Lions. Last week, it was almost unanimously Citrus or Outback.

I see the Nittany Lions beating Rutgers and Maryland while splitting Michigan/Michigan State, which would leave the team with an 8-4 record. Most years, that is good enough to get into either the Citrus or Outback bowls. Between those two, I’d side with On3, Mandel of The Athletic and the CFN team and say that the Outback is the prediction at this point in time. The opponent would be Ole Miss.

If so, kickoff for that game is set for Noon on Jan. 1, and ESPN2 will televise the contest.

As for the other contests, it’s not hard to envision PSU ending up in the Citrus Bowl, of course, and Brett McMurphy has been pretty good at predicting these things for years, so I wouldn’t immediately rule out the Las Vegas Bowl, as an 8-4 team probably will end up there.

As for Music City or Pinstripe, from this vantage point, the Nittany Lions will only end up in either of those games if they finish 7-5 or 6-6, which is possible. According to ESPN’s FPI, the team’s projected win-loss record at the end of the regular season is 7.5-4.5, which is, of course, impossible. But, it goes to show that toss ups are on the horizon.

The outcome of those games will determine whether or not Penn State ends up at a more prestigious non-NY6 bowl or if they play in a game that is deemed to be lesser than the others to finish the year.

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