Interesting stretch for PSU, Pitt and WVU
Now that the college football regular season has ended, local programs enter the upcoming month in different places.
Penn State is preparing for New YearĢƵ Six game.
Penn State wasted little time in jumping on Maryland, Saturday, en route to its 66-3 win.
Seeing Penn State fans outnumber Maryland fans was something to see live, and it seemed the Maryland fan base dwindled with every Nittany Lion touchdown.
One usher inside the stadium was so reserved to the outcome that prior to the game, while selling drinks, he told us to “take it easy on us and enjoy your New YearĢƵ Six bowl game.”
Speaking of, will any Penn State players sit out the bowl game, or will potential transfers not go to the game?
And with head coach openings popping up, will offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead be a target of some of the schools?
Mississippi State is said to be very interested, so time will tell.
As far as Penn StateĢƵ bowl game, the Cotton Bowl looks to be the most logical landing spot, against possible a conference title game loser, although the Fiesta Bowl and Orange Bowl have also been tossed around as possible destinations.
Regardless of where the Nittany Lions end up, look for its massive throng of fans to travel with the team.
WVU looking to finish strong
West Virginia closed its season on a two-game losing streak to finish in a four-way tie for fourth place in the Big 12.
The Mountaineers will find out its destination Sunday, and projections include the Cactus Bowl and the Liberty Bowl.
Pitt to go bowling?
While Pitt finished with a 5-7 record, it may find itself in a bowl after its exciting win over second-ranked and previously undefeated Miami.
How, you ask?
There are 41 bowls, therefore, 80 teams get to play in a bowl game (and the College Football Playoff semifinal winners play in a second, the National Championship Game, to crown a champion).
Right now, only 79 teams have a winning record, but that includes possible teams who are ineligible to play in a bowl game.
Florida State should pick up its sixth win Saturday, but can Pitt sneak in at 5-7?
Probably not, but there is still a chance.
One issue for Pitt being considered is that its fans do not travel well at all, so if a 5-7 team is chosen, it may look for a program whose fans travel.
The biggest gain for Pitt, if it makes a bowl game, is that it would pick up some much-needed practices for its young players to catapult it into next season.
It will be interesting to see if the win over Miami will help Pitt boost its recruiting as it has not recruited well heading into next monthĢƵ early signing period.
Slagus, Bucknell looking forward
Kaitlyn Slagus (Belle Vernon) is averaging 13.4 points, 9.3 rebounds and a block a game for the 4-3 Bison.
Bucknell has four more exhibition games, including a Dec. 20 game at Pitt, before opening Patriot League action.
Zimcosky, Ohio U, place third
Smock native Emily Zimcosky (Geibel Catholic) is one of four Ohio University Bobcat women swimmers taking part in the 2017 Winter National Championships which begin today and run through Saturday.
A sophomore, Zimcosky will swim in the 100-yard and 200-yard freestyle events.
The other three Ohio swimmers taking part are juniors Emilia Lahtinen (Ylojarvi, Finland) and Corrin Van Lanen (Green Bay, Wisc.) as well as freshman Samantha Glass (Villa Hills, Ky.).
Rice, Grove City look to get back on track
Freshman Justice Rice (Monessen) and the Grove City Wolverines (3-1, 0-1) will look to even its Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (PAC) record at 1-1 tonight at Waynesburg.
Rice has started all four games and while he is struggling from the field, he is second on the team at over four assists per game.
Waynesburg is 0-3 on the young season and tonight is its PAC opener.
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