The Akron Zips still have a bitter taste in their mouths after dropping four straight to end 2016, failing to capitalize on the program's first bowl win in history. But the start of 2017 doesn't get much easier for Terry Bowden and company.
Akron will travel to Happy Valley to play in front of over 100,000 fans against the 2016 Big Ten Conference champions — a Penn State team that nearly received a playoff invitation.
The Nittany Lions enter the contest ranked No. 6 in the AP Poll. After failing to make a mark in the poll from 2012 through 2015, Penn State strung together nine consecutive victories before narrowly falling in the Rose Bowl to re-establish itself as one of college football's powers.