Now that the post-spring rankings have been shared and reviewed, the next logical step is to attempt to project the entire bowl lineup for the upcoming 2023 college football season. And if you take any stock in the bowl projections from 247Sports before hitting the midway point in May, then you may want to start scouting airfare prices for a New Years trip to Miami.
Penn State is projected to play the Clemson Tigers in the Orange Bowl according to the most recent bowl projections from Brad Crawford of 247Sports.
Here is what Crawford said about his Orange Bowl projection of Penn State and Clemson;
Florida State seems to be the preseason frontrunner in the ACC this spring, which is more than enough bulletin board material for Dabo Swinney. The Tigers come off another conference championship under his guidance and now have a difference-maker at quarterback who develops under new offensive coordinator Garrett Riley. A lot has to go right for Clemson to get back to the New Year’s Six in 2023, but this program’s been too consistent to play second fiddle to the Seminoles right now. Penn State’s two biggest games are Michigan and Ohio State. A split against that pair could get the Nittany Lions closer to the playoff.
As noted by Crawford, and indicated by the composite post-spring rankings, Clemson appears to be the second team in the ACC running this upcoming season after Florida State has gained control of the offseason hype train in the conference despite Clemson coming off another ACC championship. But Crawford thinks Clemson has enough to hold off the Seminoles in the ACC race this season and win the ACC’s spot in the Orange Bowl.
As for Penn State, Crawford shares a similar outlook for the Nittany Lions as just about everybody; the season’s outcome likely boils down to what happens against Michigan and Ohio State. It should be worth noting Crawford’s playoff projection sees both the Wolverines and Buckeyes in the College Football Playoff, similar to last season. And with the Rose Bowl hosting one of the playoff games this season, Penn State won’t be lucking their way into a trip to Pasadena this season. But being the highest-ranked available team from the Big Ten and SEC for the Orange Bowl could be in the cards for the Nittany Lions even if it does finish in third place in the Big Ten East again.
Penn State has faced Clemson just once all-time, and it did not go well for the Nittany Lions. The two schools faced each other in the 1988 Citrus Bowl with no. 14 Clemson throttling no. 20 Penn State by a final score of 35-10.
Of course, both Clemson and Penn State are hoping to avoid a trip to the Orange Bowl in favor of a spot in the College Football Playoff. Penn State is looking to make its first College Football Playoff while Clemson is looking to return to the playoff stage for a seventh time, and first since losing in the Sugar Bowl to Ohio State in the 2020 season.
See the full post-spring bowl projections from 247Sports to see all of the updated matchup projections.
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