PSU and BC To Renew Rivalry in New Era Pinstripe Bowl

By Kenny Varner
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Updated: December 8, 2014

Courtesy of psu athletics

Nittany Lions and Eagles to Meet For 24th Time December 27 in Yankee Stadium

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; December 7, 2014 – Penn State is heading to New York City for the first time since 1947, as the Nittany Lions will meet old rival Boston College in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl on Saturday, December 27.

The Nittany Lions and Eagles were selected today for their 24th all-time meeting and Penn State’s 45^th bowl appearance. The teams last met in 2004. The New Era Pinstripe Bowl will kick at 4:30 p.m. ET in Yankee Stadium (49,542). The game will air on ESPN, the Penn State Sports Network and GoPSUsports.com.

“We are thrilled to be facing Boston College in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl,” said Sandy Barbour, Penn State Director of Athletics. “The Pinstripe Bowl brings together three great brands in Penn State, the New York Yankees and New Era in one of the world’s truly great cities. The Pinstripe Bowl will provide thousands of Penn Staters particularly in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, an opportunity to support the 2014 Nittany Lions one more time and take in all that New York City has to offer during the holidays. I’m particularly pleased that our senior football student athletes will have a chance to play in a bowl game, and that as a community we will have one more opportunity to honor and thank them. I can’t wait to gather in New York with the Penn State faithful.”

“We are very excited and appreciative to be going to New York City to play in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl,” head coach James Franklin said. “Penn State has a long and storied bowl history and we look forward to another opportunity to keep our family together. I am so happy for our players, especially the seniors, for this chance to play together one more time. The thing that makes Penn State special is the people, and we can’t wait to see our alumni and fans storming New York and filling Yankee Stadium on December 27.”

As a benefit of membership, Nittany Lion Club members can log onto Account Manager at: GoPSUsports.com/bowlcentral to request tickets to the New Era Pinstripe Bowl. Nittany Lion Club and Penn State Alumni Association members can call 1-800-NITTANY, Monday and Tuesday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., to request New Era Pinstripe Bowl tickets. NLC and PSAA members have until 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 9 to request their bowl tickets.

In his first year as the Nittany Lions’ head coach and fourth year as an FBS head coach, Franklin will be leading a team to a bowl game for the fourth consecutive season, winning his last two.

Penn State and Boston College first met in 1949, a 32-14 Nittany Lions win in State College, and the Eagles won the last meeting, 21-7, in 2004 in Alumni Stadium. Penn State leads the series, 19-4, including a 2-1 mark in neutral site games (all in Foxboro, Mass.). The former Eastern independents played every season from 1981-92. The teams played a home-and-home series in 2003-04 and the Eagles will bring a three-game series winning streak into the Pinstripe Bowl clash.

The New Era Pinstripe Bowl is in its fifth year of being played and its first in an eight-year tie-in with the Big Ten Conference. Penn State is the first Big Ten team to appear in the Pinstripe Bowl. Boston College is making its first Pinstripe Bowl appearance as well.

Penn State (6-6) will be making its 45^th bowl appearance all-time, tied for No. 9 nationally. The Nittany Lions’ 27 on-field post-season victories are tied for No. 4 nationally with Georgia and Texas, and lead all Big Ten Conference institutions. Penn State’s 63.6 on-field winning percentage in bowl games (27-15-2 record) is No. 3 nationally among teams with at least 20 post-season appearances. USC (66.7) and Ole Miss (65.7) are the only schools with a better bowl winning percentage than Penn State.