Penn State Football: 3 likely bowl destinations for 2022

2. Orange Bowl

The Orange Bowl would certainly be a welcome destination for the Nittany Lions if they are able to record a 10-win season. Being a New Year’s Six bowl, it is a step above the Citrus Bowl. Plus Miami in late December sure beats the cold climate of Pennsylvania.

Right now it is difficult to see how Penn State would get to the Orange Bowl but it is still possible. There are four SEC teams ahead of the Nittany Lions in the rankings and one of them would end up in this spot as long as they are ranked ahead of Penn State. The ACC champion automatically earns the other Orange Bowl berth as long as they are not in the College Football Playoff.

All of this means there would have to be some chaos in the final couple of weeks. One of the SEC teams getting upset or LSU getting blown out by Georgia in the SEC Championship game might do it.

Penn State has a 4-1 overall record in Orange Bowl games throughout the years. The Nittany Lions were 3-0 in the game before losing to Oklahoma in the defacto national championship game in 1985.

Their most recent appearance was at the end of the 2005 season and it was an absolute thriller. The Nittany Lions faced off against Florida State and the teams battled into three overtimes where Penn State kicked a game-winning field goal to emerge victorious 26-23.

The win capped off a Big Ten championship-winning season for Penn State that saw them finish ranked number three in the polls.