While some are are expecting Penn State to take a tumble down the bowl pecking order in Sunday's selections, the Yahoo! Sports staff remains bullish on the Nittany Lions' chances of preserving a slot commensurate with their 9-3 record.
In their final bowl projections, Yahoo! experts predict Penn State will face Texas in the Insight Bowl on Dec. 30 in Tempe, Ariz. That would make Penn State the third selection from the Big Ten outside of the BCS behind just Legends Division champion Michigan State and 9-3 Nebraska, a team that defeated the Lions on Nov. 12 at Beaver Stadium.
That slotting would keep Penn State ahead of 7-5 Iowa and 6-6 Ohio State, both teams the Lions beat convincingly this past season.
Yahoo! sticks with what seems to be the consensus in slotting West Virginia for the Orange Bowl and Pitt in the BBVA Compass Bowl, though Yahoo! has the Panthers facing Western Michigan where Sports Illustrated's Stewart Mandel has them facing Toledo.