Penn State fired up for Rose Bowl despite missing out on playoff

Penn State fan Michael Lefkowitz was sitting in the stands during the Big Ten championship game when the Nittany Lions fell behind 28-7 to Wisconsin.

Lefkowitz and his friends figured then that Penn State would probably head to the Goodyear Cotton Bowl. Even that was worlds better than his most optimistic projections back when the team was 2-2 in September and he was checking the dates for bowl games in Detroit and Nashville.

After PSU rallied to beat Wisconsin, Lefkowitz held out a glimmer of hope for a College Football Playoff bid the following day. But when the team instead finished No. 5 and earned an appearance in the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Northwestern Mutual against USC, Lefkowitz…