The Penn State Nittany Lions (9-3) will face the Houston Cougars (12-1) in the 2012 Ticket City Bowl at 12 p.m. on ESPNU on Jan 2. at the Cotton Bowl in Fair Park, Dallas, TX.
Penn State finished tied for first in the Leaders division with Big Ten champion Wisconsin. Wisconsin got to the Big Ten Championship Game by virtue of having beaten Penn State in their head-to-head matchup, 45-7. Houston won the Western division of Conference USA but lost out on a BCS bowl bid when they fell to Southern Miss, 49-28, in the Conference USA Championship Game on Dec. 3.
Houston is favored by 6 points over the Nittany Lions (via Odds Shark). There is no total yet available for the Ticket City Bowl.
For more college football bowl odds and betting lines, visit Odds Shark. For more Penn State coverage, visit our team page or Black Shoe Diaries. For a complete college football bowl game schedule, check out SB Nation's 2011 college football bowl game bids coverage.