Bowl destinies on the line for Penn State, Michigan State in regular season finale

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Bowl destinies on the line for Penn St, Mich St.

EAST LANSING, Mich. — The Rose Bowl is out of reach for Penn State and Michigan State.

But Saturday’s regular-season finale will have a lot to do with determining where both Big Ten teams spend their holidays.

No. 13 Penn State (9-2, 5-2 Big Ten) still has a shot at earning an at-large Bowl Championship Series bid, one of several possible postseason scenarios for Joe Paterno’s program. Michigan State (6-5, 4-3) also is bowl eligible and would guarantee a bid with a victory at Spartan Stadium.

The Big Ten has seven bowl-eligible teams. Michigan would become the eighth if the Wolverines are able to upset Ohio State on Saturday.

A Michigan victory also would give Penn State — along with Iowa and Wisconsin — a chance to grab a share of the Big Ten title with Ohio State. The Buckeyes already have sewn up the Big Ten’s automatic BCS bid.

“A lot has been said if this certain team wins or this certain team loses … all that’s thrown out the door if you don’t handle your business in the last football game,” Penn State quarterback Daryll Clark said. “We need to get this win, and then we can talk about Big Ten things.”

As for the BCS, the same theory stands. Penn State has tried to silence the speculation at least until after Saturday’s game.

“We still have to go out to East Lansing and perform and win before we talk anymore,” Clark said.

Penn State is ranked 14th in the latest BCS standings, the cutoff for eligibility to receive an at-large bid. The Nittany Lion fan base travels well and Paterno is bound to attract some TV interest. But each conference is limited to two BCS bids and Iowa, which defeated Penn State earlier this season, also could be an attractive at-large option for the lucrative bowls.

Penn State could be a prime candidate for the Capital One Bowl or the Outback Bowl if it gets left out of the BCS.

Michigan State’s travel plans will be less enticing, particularly for a team picked in the preseason to finish third in the Big Ten. Alamo Bowl representatives were in attendance for last week’s victory over Purdue. The Champs Sports Bowl, Insight Bowl and Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl also are among the possible destinations.

Win or lose, the Spartans plan to make it to a bowl game for the third straight season for the first time since 1995-97. A victory would ensure a better trip.

“We need to play hard and with a chip on our shoulder,” Michigan State fullback Andrew Hawken said. “We need this win to solidify a bowl spot. After what happened last year with Penn State, we need to keep it in the back of our mind but also focus on this year.”

Last year, Michigan State traveled to Penn State with a chance at getting a share of the Big Ten title. The Nittany Lions dominated the Spartans, 49-18, as Clark threw for 341 yards and four touchdowns.

Clark is back and ranked second in the Big Ten in passing efficiency behind only Michigan State’s Kirk Cousins.

Michigan State leads the conference in total offense at nearly 414 yards per game, but something will have to give: Penn State leads the Big Ten in scoring defense, allowing just 11.6 points per game.

Penn State’s offense has struggled early in some games, including last week against Indiana. The Nittany Lions committed four turnovers in the first half and trailed the Hoosiers before rallying for a 31-20 win.

Paterno was at a loss to explain the slow starts, which have happened most often on the road.

“Well, yeah, I have a little concern obviously,” he said. “Do I have an explanation? No. I really don’t know. Your guess is as good as mine. Obviously, I’m just glad we were able to learn from the slow starts and go on from there.”

The home team has won 11 of the last 13 meetings in the series.