Dec. 1, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; December 1, 2011 - The Penn State football team will soon learn its bowl destination and opponent as the Nittany Lions prepare to participate in their 44th bowl game all-time.
All of the 2011-12 bowl match-ups will be announced on Sunday night, with some of the announcements starting at 6:00 pm. The five Bowl Championship Series contests will be announced at 8:15 p.m. ET on ESPN.
The Big Ten Network's Big Ten Bowl Selection Special will air Sunday at 8:00 p.m. ET and re-air at 11:00 p.m. Host Dave Revsine and analysts Gerry DiNardo and Howard Griffith will break down where each team is headed and how they match up with their opponents during the 60-minute program. A record-tying 10 Big Ten squads are bowl eligible.
The No. 23 Nittany Lions played 10 teams this season that are bowl eligible; seven Big Ten opponents and three non-conference foes.
Penn State (9-3) and Wisconsin shared the first Big Ten Leaders Division title with 6-2 conference marks. Penn State's 27 bowl victories are No. 3 in the nation and its 43 post-season appearances rank No. 8. The Nittany Lions' winning percentage (65.1, 27-14-2) is No. 2 nationally among schools with at least 20 bowl appearances. USC leads at 66.7 (32-16).
Penn State leads all Big Ten teams in bowl victories and winning percentage and is No. 2 in bowl appearances.
The Nittany Lions are 67-22 (75.3) since the start of the 2005 season, the nation's No. 12 winning percentage over that span. The seven-year run includes two Big Ten Championships and BCS berths and five New Year's bowl games, with the possibility of a sixth.
Penn State has won four of its last six bowl appearances, with victories in the 2006 FedEx Orange Bowl (Florida State), 2007 Outback Bowl (Tennessee), 2007 Alamo Bowl (Texas A&M) and 2010 Capital One Bowl (LSU). The losses came in the 2009 Rose Bowl (USC) and 2011 Outback Bowl (Florida).
Tickets for Penn State's bowl game will go on sale Sunday shortly after the bowl announcement at www.GoPSUsports.com, as well as Monday at 10 a.m. at 1-800-NITTANY. Ticket information will be posted at www.GoPSUsports.com/tickets shortly after the announcement.