Penn State Nittany Lions heading to Cotton Bowl vs. Memphis Tigers
Penn State may not be headed to the Rose Bowl — but, for the third time in four years, it still earned a spot in the New Year’s Six.
The No. 10 Nittany Lions will appear in the 84th Cotton Bowl Classic at noon Dec. 28, and they’ll play No. 17 Memphis, the nation’s top-ranked Group of Five team. The bowl will take place at AT&T Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, in Arlington, Texas.
To make the Cotton Bowl, Penn State needed to finish ranked ahead of Utah (11-2), which dropped six spots to No. 11 after losing to No. 6 Oregon 37-15 Friday in the Pac-12 championship. Ultimately, the College Football Playoff committee felt the Nittany Lions’ resume was stronger: PSU beat No. 14 Michigan and No. 16 Iowa; the Utes lost both of their top-25 matchups.
“Penn State has those wins against ranked opponents and Utah doesn’t,” CFP committee chair Rob Mullens told ESPN. “The committee really valued Utah all year, but they had two opportunities to play ranked teams.”
It is Penn State’s first trip to the Cotton Bowl since 1975, when it beat Baylor 41-20.
Over the last four years, Penn State has been in half of the New Year’s Six — the 2017 Rose Bowl (L, 52-49 to USC), the 2017 Fiesta Bowl (W, 35-28 over Washington) and now the 2019 Cotton Bowl. Several players said Nov. 30 they would’ve preferred a return trip to the Rose Bowl, but most acknowledged they would’ve been happy with any destination from the NY6.
“Obviously being to a New Year’s Six bowl for the third time in four years would be incredibly special,” senior punter Blake Gillikin said, following the 27-6 win over Rutgers. “A lot of people don’t get to go to a bowl game, much less multiple New Year’s Six bowls.”
The Nittany Lions’ opponent, the Memphis Tigers (12-1), finds itself in a unique position. Less than 24 hours after winning the AAC championship Saturday, in a 29-24 thriller over Cincinnati, Florida State announced it officially hired Memphis head coach Mike Norvell.
But the Tigers could still provide a challenge. Quarterback Brady White is one of 12 finalists for the national Manning Award — alongside other candidates such as LSU’s Joe Burrow and Ohio State’s Justin Fields — and he’s thrown for 3,307 yards and 32 touchdowns. Penn State’s secondary has struggled against more prolific passing offenses, and Memphis boasts the nation’s No. 10 total offense and No. 8 scoring offense.
For the Nittany Lions, they return to a bowl where they’ve had a 44-year absence. They’ve played there three times — 1948, 1972 and 1975 — and made history in their first-ever appearance.
On Jan. 1, 1948, Penn State tied SMU 13-13 in the Cotton Bowl’s battle of the unbeatens. But, more importantly, the Nittany Lions’ Wally Triplett and Dennie Hoggard became the first African-Americans to play in the bowl; Triplett was inducted into the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame last year.
Penn State and Memphis are scheduled to arrive in Texas on Dec. 22, ahead of the 2019 Cotton Bowl Classic.
This story was originally published December 8, 2019 at 3:09 PM.
