Dec 3, 2017 5 min read

James Franklin has quickly brought Penn State back to national prominence. The Nittany Lions fell short of their College Football Playoff bid, but a trip to the desert for the Fiesta Bowl is a big step.

No. 9 Penn State will face another 10-2 team that once had CFP aspirations when it meets No. 12 Washington in the Dec. 30 Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium.

“We couldn’t be more excited. We’re blessed for this opportunity. A great way to end the season,” Franklin said Sunday. “You’re playing in a big time bowl game, a great venue, but you’re also having to face a challenging and difficult opponent.”

Penn State took one step toward distancing itself from the Jerry Sandusky scandal and becoming a national power again last season, earning a trip to the Rose Bowl in Franklin’s third season.

The Nittany Lions lost a wild game to Southern California 52-49 and were on a path toward the CFP by reaching No. 2 in the AP Top 25 after winning their first seven games.

A one-point loss to Ohio State put playoff hopes in jeopardy and a three-point loss to Michigan State the following week all but ended their hopes.

Disappointing, but a chance to earn the program’s first win in a major bowl since 2006 is a pretty good consolation.

It won’t be easy.

The Huskies were in the CFP conversation after winning their first six games behind a stout defense and quarterback Jake Browning.

Washington was No. 5 in the AP poll and in good position to make a return trip to the playoff, but surprisingly lost 13-7 to unranked Arizona State and later lost to Stanford to lose any chance at the playoff.

The Huskies finished No. 11 in the final CFP rankings, setting up a marquee match-up at the Fiesta Bowl with the Nittany Lions.

“All the sudden we were like, ‘Uh oh, be careful what you wish for,”‘ Washington coach Chris Petersen said. “This is what college football is all about. This is what you play all season for, to go to a bowl game like this and play another great, storied program.”

Washington reached the playoffs last year behind its stout defense and the Huskies have been good on D again this year, particularly against the run. Washington finished first nationally in the FBS against the run, allowing 92.3 yards per game and was fifth overall, allowing 277.4 total yards per game.

The Huskies will have a stiff challenge in trying to stop Penn State’s Saquon Barkley. He was one of the front-runners for the Heisman Trophy early in the season and still could get an invite to New York for the announcement. Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield appears to be the favorite, but Barkley had a superb junior season, rushing for 1,134 yards and 16 TDs.

West Virginia to play Utah: West Virginia and Utah accepted invitations to play in the Heart of Dallas Bowl Dec. 26 at Cotton Bowl Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m.

WVU is 7-5 overall, 5-4 in the Big 12, but lost its final two games of the regular season after losing quarterback Will Grier to a broken finger.

These teams have met before, a 32-6 Utah victory in the 1964 Liberty Bowl in Atlantic City, N.J., which was notable for being the first major college football bowl game played indoors.

Bowl drought ends: Excuse Florida State if its celebration for setting the NCAA record for consecutive bowl appearances is a bit muted.

No one in Tallahassee is happy about the way this season turned out, not with the Seminoles’ hopes for making the College Football Playoff dashed by October, coach Jimbo Fisher bolting last week and having to win a rescheduled game against Louisiana-Monroe just to achieve the requisite six victories for bowl eligibility.

Down in Las Cruces, New Mexico, however, they’re partying like it’s 1960. That’s how long it’s been since the Aggies have played in the postseason.

The nation’s longest bowl drought ended Sunday when New Mexico State (6-6) accepted an invitation to play Utah State (6-6) in the Arizona Bowl Dec. 29.

It just so happens Utah State was the same opponent that New Mexico State beat in the 1960 Sun Bowl to finish a perfect season.

“I assume that bowl game in 1960 was in November or December, so I’m confident Dwight D. Eisenhower was president of the United States,” athletic director Mario Moccia said. “That puts it in an historical context, doesn’t it?”

The bowl-clinching win Saturday didn’t lack for dramatic flair.

New Mexico State trailed South Alabama 17-16 at home in the fourth quarter before Connor Cramer led a 15-play, 83-yard drive he finished with a short pass to Tyler Rogers in the back of the end zone with 32 seconds left.

“It’s providence,” Moccia said.

The 22-17 victory came in front of 26,268, the biggest crowd in years.

“I’ve never seen so many people crying out of joy,” Moccia said. “They didn’t think it was going to happen here. We’re a low-resourced institution and in a geographical area that doesn’t produce many (college) football players.

Utah finished the regular season 6-6 finishing 5th in the PAC 12 South.