Fiesta Bowl matches up Penn State against Washington

Penn State will face Washington in a Fiesta Bowl matchup of Big Ten and Pac-12 powers in Glendale after both teams were left out of the College Football Playoff ranking committee’s top four places.

As part of the New Years Six group of bowl games, the Fiesta Bowl will be played on Saturday, Dec. 30, at University of Phoenix Stadium.

Usually, the feature Pac-12 vs. Big 10 matchup occurs in the Rose Bowl, but this season, the Rose Bowl will be featured as a College Football Playoff semifinal between No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 3 Georgia.

“We couldn’t be more excited. We’re blessed for this opportunity. A great way to end the season,” Penn State head coach James 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 had an electric start to the season ranked as high as second in the AP Poll before back-to-back midseason losses to Ohio State and Michigan State. The Nittany Lions feature Saquon Barkley, one of the top-rated running back prospects who could enter the 2018 NFL Draft. Barkley is on the short-list of top Heisman Trophy contenders.

Penn State is 6-0 in Fiesta Bowl history but has not made an appearance in more than 20 years.

The Huskies find themselves in a New Years Six Bowl one season after making the playoff as the four seed. Washington finished second behind Stanford in a tightly contested Pac-12 North but had two losses on the season.

The Huskies were in the College Football Playoff 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 Associated Press contributed to this story.

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