Penn State Football Announces It Won't Participate in Bowl Game Amid Pandemic

The list of teams pulling out of bowl games continues to grow, with Penn State becoming the latest football program to announce it won't play in a postseason contest.

Per an official announcement from the school, the decision to opt out of a bowl game was made by the student-athletes with the support of athletic director Sandy Barbour and head coach James Franklin.

Franklin issued a statement included in the announcement:

"I couldn't be more proud and encouraged by how our team conducted itself during this unprecedented season. One of our four core values is a willingness to sacrifice, and our student-athletes, coaches and staff have all made incredible sacrifices both on and off the field in order for us to compete this year. This has been a challenging nine months, but we are proud of how our student-athletes have navigated these difficult times. As you know, we rely on our captains and Leadership Council to provide a voice for our team, and our student-athletes made the difficult choice not to participate in a bowl this year in order to spend time with loved ones. We are fully supportive of their decision, knowing it has been many months since our students-athletes have been able to spend time with their families and the challenges they endured, both physically and mentally. This will be an opportunity for our guys to go home, see family and recharge for the spring semester."

Brandon Marcello of 247Sports noted a total of 17 teams across the country have opted out of playing in a bowl game.

Expectations were high for the Nittany Lions coming into 2020. They were ranked seventh in the Associated Press Top 25 preseason poll, but had a dramatic fall from grace with five straight losses to open the regular season.

After a 41-21 loss to Iowa on Nov. 21, ESPN's Field Yates noted Penn State became the first team ranked in the top 10 of the AP preseason poll to start 0-5.

Franklin was able to get his team turned around with four consecutive wins, including a 56-21 victory over Illinois in the season finale Saturday.

It's unclear if a 4-5 Penn State team would have received an invite to a bowl game anyway, but it would certainly have seemed possible given the number of programs that have decided against playing in them thus far.

By finishing their season now, the Nittany Lions have ensured their first losing record since a 4-7 mark in 2004.