Penn State football is one win away from claiming bowl eligibility. The 5-6 Nittany Lions' 2025 season took a turn once incoming Virginia Tech head coach James Franklin was fired and interim head coach Terry Smith reignited the locker room and reminding the team of its identity.
After a two-game win streak, beating Michigan State and Nebraska, Penn State must beat Rutgers in the final regular season week to play in a December, non-playoff bowl game. The Big Ten is partnered with seven bowl games: GameAbove Sports Bowl, Rate Bowl, Pinstripe Bowl, Music City Bowl, ReliaQuest Bowl, Citrus Bowl, and Las Vegas Bowl.
Here's where experts think the Nittany Lions will end up:
ESPN - GameAbove Sports Bowl
The Big Ten v. MAC matchup is held in Ford Field, Detroit on Dec. 26 at 1 p.m. ET. Both Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach have Penn State playing in this bowl, but against different teams. Bonagura thinks the Nittany Lions will face off with Ohio while Schlabach has them meeting Western Michigan.
The Bobcats are third in the MAC with a 7-4 overall record set to meet Buffalo in Week 14. The Broncos are first in the conference at 8-4 overall and head to Eastern Michigan in the regular season finale.
CBS - GameAbove Sports Bowl
CBS backed Bonagura's prediction, putting Penn State against Ohio in the GameAbove Sports Bowl.
Compared to other possibilities, though, a Big Ten v. MAC matchup when the Nittany Lions are just getting hot isn't as riveting of a game to watch as others. It's also roughly a six-hour drive from Penn State, making it an unideal location for the blue and white faithful to get to in the holiday season.
The Athletic - Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl
The Big Ten v. ACC matchup is held at Yankee Stadium on Dec. 27 at noon. The Athletic projects the Nittany Lions to play in-state rival Pittsburgh. The Panthers are 8-3 overall, second in the ACC, and play No. 12 Miami to cap off the 2025 season in Week 14.
This would be the second time Penn State plays in this bowl game, the first appearance coming in 2014 during Franklin's first season as a head coach in Happy Valley. The blue and white beat Boston College 31-30 in overtime that year.
Sports Illustrated - Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl
Sports Illustrated also predicts the Nittany Lions to play in the Pinstripe Bowl. Doubling down on The Athletic's matchup, Bryan Fischer believes it will be a Pennsylvania battle in the Bronx, N.Y. in late December.
The Sporting News - Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl
The Sporting News also put Penn State in the Pinstripe Bowl. However, instead of playing the Panthers, Bill Bender believes the blue and white will face Duke instead. The Blue Devils are currently 6-5 and play Wake Forest in their final regular season battle. Bender has Pittsburgh playing on Dec. 30 in the Transperfect Music City Bowl against Illinois.
Penn State v. Pittsburgh is the perfect in-state rivalry for the bowl season
While the Nittany Lions already played in the Pinstripe Bowl previously, that was over 10 years ago and the matchup against Pittsburgh is a much more exciting game for college football fans. The last time Penn State played its in-state rival was 2019 when the Nittany Lions beat the Panthers at home 17-10. The rivalry has yet to surface in the regular season since and it doesn't seem like it's coming back anytime soon.
That is for a regular season game at least.
A non-playoff bowl game is a perfect opportunity for the two to face off. Yankee Stadium provides an ideal neutral site for both fanbases. Out of all possibilities and predictions, reigniting the Pennsylvania rivalry is the most attention-grabbing for both teams and both conferences. The all-time record between the two teams is 41-38-4 in favor of Penn State.
This is also the 110th year of the rivalry as the Nittany Lions and Panthers first faced off in 1915. Celebrating that anniversary with a bowl game is as perfect as it can get.