Penn State is one giant step closer to playing in the Rose Bowl despite finishing in third place in the Big Ten East this season. But after Utah’s Pac-12 championship victory over USC on Friday night opened a door for Ohio State to get a second Big Ten team in the playoff, Penn State will not be making any apologies if it ends up making the trip to Pasadena to represent the Big Ten.
All indications at this point suggest Penn State will indeed be playing in the Rose Bowl, although the official bowl matchups will be locked in on Sunday afternoon as the College Football Playoff selection committee announces its playoff field and New Years Six bowl lineup. But No. 5 Ohio State is expected to mvoe into the top four ahead of two-loss USC, and No. 2 Michigan could be in a good spot regardless of what happens in the Big Ten championship game.
All that could be blocking Penn State from the Rose Bowl now could be a Purdue victory in the Big Ten championship against the Wolverines. Penn State fans will be pulling hard for Michigan on Saturday night. But on Friday night, Twitter was having fun celebrating the likelihood of Penn State heading to the Rose Bowl increasing in a big way.