The 2019 Cotton Bowl will feature No. 10 Penn State versus No. 17 Memphis in Arlington, Texas on Saturday, Dec. 28. Get the time, how to watch, prediction and preview information here.
The Nittany Lions, like most years, aspired to win the Big Ten and make the College Football Playoff. Penn State finished second in the Big Ten East with a 10-2 record, behind an Ohio State team that earned a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Memphis landed the Group of 5 spot in this year's round of New Year's Six bowls by finishing the season No. 17 in the College Football Playoff rankings with a 12-1 record. This is the first time since 2015 where a non-undefeated team from the Group of 5 landed a spot in a New Year's Six bowl.
Penn State vs. Memphis: Cotton Bowl time, TV channel
The 2019 Cotton Bowl will be played in Arlington, Texas and will kick off at noon ET on Dec. 28 The game will broadcast on ESPN and can be seen on ESPN's streaming platforms.
Penn State vs. Memphis: Cotton Bowl prediction, Preview
Memphis had one of its best seasons in program history in 2019, finishing the regular season as the AAC champions with a 12-1 record. In fact, the Tigers' season was so good, head coach Mike Norvell got hired by Florida State. Former offensive line coach Ryan Silverfield takes the reins in Memphis and will coach in the Cotton Bowl.
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Silverfield will look to keep the offense humming along against Penn State. The Tigers posted the eighth highest-scoring offense in the FBS with 40.54 points per game.
Veteran head coach James Franklin leads the Nittany Lions. Penn State is 2-3 in bowl games under Franklin with their last victory coming against Washington in the 2017 Fiesta Bowl.
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PSU will try to stop Memphis' top-10 offense. The Tigers post the 10th highest total yards per game in the FBS with 480.7. The Nittany Lions allow an average of 14.1 points per game and 330.2 yards per game. The closest Memphis came to scoring 14 points in a game this season was their opener against Ole Miss (15-10 win).
Although the Tigers don't have many key wins on the year, they have beaten every ranked opponent they have faced, beating No. 21 Cincinnati twice and No. 23 Navy once.
Penn State has two ranked wins, beating No. 16 Iowa and knocking off No. 14 Michigan.
The Nittany Lions look to running back Journey Brown and receiver KJ Hamler to put points up on the board. The team averages 34.3 points per game.
Follow along here for live scoring, stats and updates.
Give Penn State a slight edge because of its defense and coaching. Memphis is also without defensive coordinator Adam Fuller, who joins Norvell to coach at Florida State. Expect a close finish with Penn State winning.
| The Pick | Penn State 38, Memphis 35 |
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Penn State
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STAT |
Memphis
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|---|---|---|
| 10-2 (7-2 Big Ten) | Record (Conference) | 12-1 (7-1 AAC) |
| No. 10 | CFP ranking | No. 17 |
| 34.3 | Points per game | 40.5 |
| 14.1 | Points allowed | 24.4 |
| 402.2 | Yards per game | 480.7 |
| 228.7 | Passing ypg | 284.5 |
| 173.5 | Rushing ypg | 196.2 |
| 330.2 | Yards allowed per game | 372.3 |
| 232.5 | Passing yards allowed | 200.7 |
| 97.7 | Rushing yards allowed | 171.6 |
| Sean Clifford 2,521 yards (22 TDs, 6 INTs) |
Passing yards leader | Brady White 3,560 yards (33 TDs, 9 INTs) |
| Journey Brown 688 yards, 10 TDs |
Rushing yards leader | Kenneth Gainwell 1425 yards, 12 TDs |
| KJ Hamler 858 yards, 8 TDs |
Receiving yards leader | Damonte Coxie 1144 yards, 9 TDs |
| Micah Parsons 95 total tackles, 11 tfl, 3 sacks |
Defensive leader | Austin Hall 69 total tackles, 9 tfl, 2.5 sacks |
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