PSU heading to Capital One Bowl

First Posted:

Shut out of the BCS in favor of Big Ten rival Iowa, Penn State will be spending the New Year in Orlando.

The Nittany Lions are headed for the Capital One Bowl, where they will take on LSU at 1 p.m. on Jan. 1 at Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium. ABC will carry the broadcast.
Iowa was selected by the Orange Bowl, eliminating Penn State from BCS consideration. Only two teams from the same conference can qualify for the BCS and Ohio State had already secured a spot in the Rose Bowl for winning the Big Ten.
Both Penn State and Iowa finished the season 10-2 overall and 6-2 in Big Ten play, with the Hawkeyes defeating Penn State 21-10 back in September at Beaver Stadium.
It will be Penn State’s first trip to the Capital One Bowl — now several years removed from being known as the Citrus Bowl — since the 2002 season, when the Lions lost to Auburn. They are 1-3 all-time in the bowl.
Penn State and LSU (9-3) have met just once before — Jan. 1, 1974 — when the Lions, led by Heisman Trophy winner John Cappelletti, defeated the Tigers 16-9 in the Orange Bowl.
The Lions hold two of the top-five attendance marks in stadium history and their matchup against Florida following the 1997 season was the largest attendance (72,940) for a bowl game there.
For more, including reaction from Penn State coach Joe Paterno and athletic director Tim Curley, see Monday’s Times Leader.