The season has yet to kick off, but ESPN’s bowl projections will only add fuel to the fire burning for Penn State football this season. ESPN’s preseason bowl projections for the 2023 college football season have officially been updated, and there are a couple of New Years Six bowl projections in line for the Nittany Lions this fall.
ESPN’s bowl projections from Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach agree on one thing; Penn State should be making plans for a New Years Six bowl at the end of the season. They also agree that one of those bowl destinations will not be in the College Football Playoff. Where the bowl projections from ESPN’s bowl gurus differ is the final destination for the upcoming season.
Bonagura has Penn State lining up for a rematch of last season’s Rose Bowl with a matchup with Utah in the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona. Penn State topped Utah in the Rose Bowl last season. The Rose Bowl would not be the setting for this matchup because the Rose Bowl is hosting one of the College Football Playoff semifinal games. Bonagura has Michigan squaring off with Alabama in Pasadena for one of his semifinal matchups.
Schlabach is sending Penn State to the Orange Bowl for a matchup against Florida State. According to Schlabach’s projections, Florida State would reach the Orange Bowl as the ACC champion, while Penn State would be the highest-ranked team available from the SEC or Big Ten (or Notre Dame) when it came to filling the spot in the Orange Bowl after the playoff field was set.
Schlabach has Michigan facing USC in the Rose Bowl and Georgia meeting Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl for the playoff field. So in this case, Penn State would benefit from the inclusion of two Big Ten teams in the playoff for a second straight season when it comes to its bowl options.
You can view all of ESPN’s bowl projections (with a paid subscription) to see how the rest of the bowl lineup looks.
Follow Kevin McGuire on Threads, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.
Follow Nittany Lions Wire on X and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion. Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.
[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=10]