Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1512721
1 0 J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 4 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M T he Penn State football team will once again end its season in a New Year's Six bowl game. The Nittany Lions will face Missis- sippi in the Peach Bowl on Dec. 30 in Atlanta, marking the fifth time in James Franklin's 10-year tenure as head coach that they've ended their campaign in a major postseason game. Penn State has gone 3-1 in those previous contests, earning wins in the Cotton, Rose and Fiesta bowls, while dropping the first New Year's Six game it played during the Franklin era, a 52-49 heartbreaker against USC in the Rose Bowl to con- clude the 2016 season. The upcoming matchup against Ole Miss will be the Nittany Lions' first ap- pearance in the Peach Bowl and their first game ever against the Rebels. "Penn State has never played in the Peach Bowl, which is something that's unusual in 2023," Franklin said. "There aren't too many things that you can say have never happened, especially for a program like Penn State." The Lions, who go into the postsea- son at No. 10 in the College Football Playoff standings, will be concluding their season against an SEC opponent for the fourth time under Franklin. They wrapped up their 2015 season against Georgia in the TaxSlayer Bowl, their 2018 season against Kentucky in the Citrus Bowl and their 2021 season against Arkansas in the Outback Bowl. PSU lost all three of those games, but it has gone 4-4 in bowls under Franklin, with an overtime victory over Boston College in the 2014 Pinstripe Bowl in addition to its New Year's Six wins over Washington, Mem- phis and Utah. Ole Miss, the No. 11 team in the final CFP poll, concluded its regular season with a 10-2 record, its only losses com- ing on the road against Alabama (24- 10, Sept. 23) and Georgia (52-17, Nov. 11). The Rebels have Top 25 wins against Tulane (37-20, Sept. 9) and LSU (55-49, Sept. 30). Led by head coach Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss has been fun to watch this year on o f fe n se , w i t h q u a r te r- back Jaxson Dart, a Davey O'Brien Award semifinal- ist, completing 65.4 per- cent of his attempts for 2,985 yards with 20 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Dart ranks 10th in the country heading into the postseason with an average of 14.35 yards per completion. In addition, running back Quinshon Judkins, who was previously recruited Lions Eager To Face Ole Miss In Peach Bowl G R E G P I C K E L | G R E G . P I C K E L @ O N 3 . C O M NEWS & NOTES Penn State will be playing in the Peach Bowl for the first time when it travels to Atlanta to take on Mississippi at noon Dec. 30 in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. PHOTO BY DARRYL BROOKS