Every week, we'll take a look at where the bowl eligible Penn State Nittany Lions are projected to go bowling. This post is sponsored by the song "Almighty Malachi, Professional Bowling God" by Stephen Lynch.
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: Washington State
ESPN (Brett McMurphy)
Bowl: Holiday Bowl
Location: San Diego, CA
Date: Dec. 30, 2015
Opponent: USC
ESPN (Mark Schlabach)
Bowl: Outback Bowl
Location: Tampa, FL
Date: Jan. 1, 2016
Opponent: Georgia
The only people with different projections this week are Bender and McMurphy. Bender has Penn State in the same bowl as last week, only he previously thought the Nittany Lions would face off against Arizona State. McMurphy did the same thing – he has Penn State in the same bowl as last week, but he had Penn State going up against Arizona. Both of these matchups would rule, mostly because the Nittany Lions would go up against two of the best passers in the country in USC's Cody Kessler or Washington State's Luke Falk. From a pure entertainment standpoint, these would probably be the two best games that Penn State could realistically play.
Other than that, the same sentiment remains for the projections from Kirk, Palm, and Schlabach. Well, kind of: the thought of a game against Mississippi State petrifies me. After watching J.T. Barrett and Perry Hills shred the Nittany Lion defense for two straight weeks, the thought of going against Dak Prescott – who is a better passer than either guy and maybe the most physical running quarterback in the country – is scary. Georgia is still a tough but intriguing matchup, while Kentucky would be a fun but whatever game (although watching the Nittany Lion defense go up against Boom Williams would rule).