It's fun to remember that, as recent as 13 months ago, it didn't look like Penn State was going to be able to go to a bowl game until 2016. And then the sanctions got busted and we all got happy and the 2014 Nittany Lions took on Boston College in Yankee Stadium. Penn State won. It was fun.
Anyway, Penn State currently sits at 5-2 and, barring a tragic meltdown, is going to be bowl eligible this year. We thought it would be fun to look at what games Penn State is projected to go to based on a few of sites that project these. Let's get to it.
SB Nation (Jason Kirk)
Bowl: TaxSlayer Bowl
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Date: Jan. 2, 2016
Opponent: Kentucky
CBS Sports (Jerry Palm)
Bowl: Music City Bowl
Location: Nashville, TN
Date: Dec. 30, 2015
Opponent: Mississippi State
Sporting News (Bill Bender)
Bowl: Foster Farms Bowl
Location: Santa Clara, CA
Date: Dec. 26, 2015
Opponent: Arizona State
ESPN (Brett McMurphy)
Bowl: Holiday Bowl
Location: San Diego, CA
Date: Dec. 30, 2015
Opponent: Arizona
ESPN (Mark Schlabach)
Bowl: Outback Bowl
Location: Tampa, FL
Date: Jan. 1, 2016
Opponent: Georgia
Of this group, the one that I'd least like to see is Penn State vs. Georgia in the Outback Bowl. This is because I think Georgia is the best team on this list (although Penn State does match up well with it, especially with Nick Chubb out), plus who wants to go to Tampa on New Year's Day? That sounds like torture. Plus from an aesthetic standpoint this game would be brutal both in how it's played and how ugly Raymond James Stadium is and nope, hopefully this doesn't happen.
The game I'd most like is Palm's prediction of PSU vs. Mississippi State in Nashville. It would be really cool to see James Franklin and his staff go back to the city with Vanderbilt in it, Mississippi State is solid but not great, and watching Dak Prescott go up against the Nittany Lion defense would be fun as hell. Also: eating BBQ while listening to bluegrass sounds like fun. This should happen.