Penn State to Face Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl

The Nittany Lions will play in their 5th New Year's 6 bowl game in eight seasons.

Penn State will close the 2023 football season with its first trip to the Peach Bowl, where it will face Ole Miss from the Southeastern Conference. Penn State and Ole Miss will play for the first time in history in an enticing matchup between head coaches James Franklin and Lane Kiffin.

The Peach Bowl is scheduled for noon ET Dec. 30 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Ole Miss (10-2) is making its second New Year's 6 bowl appearance under Kiffin. Penn State and Ole Miss are ranked 10th and 11th, respectively, in the final College Football Playoff rankings. Both teams are 10-2. Ole Miss finished second in the SEC West behind Alabama, losing only to the Tide and Georgia. Similarly, Penn State lost only to Michigan and Ohio State. 

Penn State (10-2) is playing in its fifth New Year's 6 bowl under head coach James Franklin. The Nittany Lions are 3-1 in past games, having won their last three appearances in the Fiesta Bowl (35-28 over Washington in 2017), the Cotton Bowl (53-39 over Memphis in 2019) and the Rose Bowl (35-21 over Utah last season).

Gary Stokan, Peach Bowl CEO and president, has been lobbying for Penn State over the past few weeks. In a November interview, Stokan said that Penn State "makes sense for us."

"First of all, we've never had Penn State in the Peach Bowl, so it would be great to host Penn State," Stokan said in the interview. "Great brand, obviously great fans, great administration. I know [Penn State coach] James Franklin. He's a quality guy, and we'd like to work together with him during bowl week."

The bowl announcement capped a busy 24 hours, during which Penn State's destination was uncertain. The Lions were eligible for three New Year's 6 bowl games, including the Fiesta and Cotton, against a variety of opponents. Georgia was among them. However, the Bulldogs will face Florida State as part of the Orange Bowl contracts with the ACC, SEC and Big 12.

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AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich. And consider subscribing (button's on the home page) for more great content across the SI.com network.