Western Pennsylvania's trusted news source
Penn State could make college football history in 2023 Peach Bowl | TribLIVE.com
Penn State

Penn State could make college football history in 2023 Peach Bowl

Pennlive.Com (Tns)
6847061_web1_AP23003066212660
AP
Penn State head coach James Franklin hoists the trophy after the team’s 35-21 win against Utah in the Rose Bowl NCAA college football game Monday, Jan. 2, 2023, in Pasadena, Calif.

Penn State’s trip to the Peach Bowl on Dec. 30 to face off against Ole Miss brings an opportunity for the Nittany Lions to make college football history.

The Nittany Lions have recorded a win in five of the “New Year’s Six” bowl games — the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl and Fiesta Bowl — and now have a chance to be the first team to claim a win in all six of the esteemed games.

Penn State’s 2023 Peach Bowl bid and opponent both mark new territory for the Lions, who have never played in the Peach Bowl or against the Rebels in the program’s history.

Penn State has won two Rose Bowls — 2023′s 35-21 win over Utah and a 38-20 win over Oregon in 1995 — in five appearances in the granddaddy of them all.

As for the Sugar Bowl, Penn State’s first national championship came in the 1982 Sugar Bowl against Georgia when the Nittany Lions won 27-23. The 1982 trip is the team’s only Sugar Bowl win in four appearances.

Penn State has a perfect record in Cotton Bowl appearances, with wins against Memphis in 2019, Baylor in 1975, Texas in 1972 and Southern Methodist University in 1948.

The Orange Bowl has hosted the Nittany Lions five times, and Penn State was victorious in four of those trips.

With seven appearances — and seven wins — Penn State is no stranger to the Fiesta Bowl either. The Nittany Lions played in the Fiesta Bowl in 2017, 1997, 1992, 1987, 1982, 1980 and 1977.

Several FBS teams have had the opportunity to tally a win in all of the New Year’s Six bowl games, most recently Ohio State in 2022, which is also missing a Peach Bowl victory. The Buckeyes lost to the Georgia Bulldogs, 42-41, in the 2022 Peach Bowl.

Other high-caliber college football teams that are only missing one of the six bowls include Alabama (Fiesta), Texas (Peach), Florida State (Rose), Georgia (Fiesta), LSU (Rose), Notre Dame (Peach), Tennessee (Rose), Oklahoma (Peach) and Clemson (Rose).

Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.

Get Ad-Free >

Categories: Penn State | Sports
Sports and Partner News