Penn State Football: The benefits of making a NY6 Bowl game

Team improvement and historical precedence

Perhaps the most important objective of any organization is to become better at what they do. Athletic teams are constantly striving to become better at the sport they play. One of the best ways to achieve this goal is to improve the level of competition that you face.

Almost all of the bowls have tie-ins with the different conferences, so while Penn State could face a SEC team in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl, it would face the SEC team with the best conference record that didn’t make the playoffs in the Citrus bowl.  It immediately becomes clear why a NY6 bowl is more desirable.

Lastly, we have Penn State’s own historical precedence. In each other seasons PRIOR to their own National Championship campaigns, Penn State faced top-level opponents. The 1981 season, saw Penn State squared against the USC Trojans featuring the Heisman Trophy winner in Marcus Allen. They completely dominated the Trojans, holding them to 60 yards rushing and 262 total offensive yards on their way to a 26-10 win. That win helped build the foundation of Joe Paterno’s first RECOGNIZED championship in 1982, as the beat the Georgia Bulldogs 27-23, featuring another Heisman trophy winner in running back Herschel Walker.

In 1985 season, Penn State faced Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl for the National Championship. Even though they fell short 25-10 against the Sooners, it could be said that the bitter taste of defeat helped fuel a fire that burned inside of them the entire off-season. The fire was finally extinguished with their defeat of the Miami Hurricanes 14-10 in the Fiesta Bowl, which had yet ANOTHER Heisman trophy winner in Vinny Testaverde.

Even their unrewarded undefeated season of 1994 saw them, in the previous season, match-up and soundly defeat the Tennessee Volunteers 31-10 in the Citrus Bowl. Any Penn State fan born in the early 1980’s or before vividly recalls the sheer beauty of watching that 1994 Penn State offense decimate almost every opponent, including the Oregon Ducks in the Rose Bowl, en route to a 12-0 perfect season.

This little trip down memory lane was not only done to provide entertainment but to show that, while playing in a NY6 Bowl does not guarantee a magical season the following year, there HAS never been one without that sort of matchup. With the preceding information laid out, it is clear that playing in a NY6 Bowl is much, much more than just a consolation prize or a mere participation trophy. These types of games provide Penn State with the opportunity for growth in many different facets.