Penn State's postseason aspirations took a crushing blow on Saturday when the Nittany Lions dropped a 20-18 contest in nine overtimes at home to Illinois.

Head coach James Franklin's program had been slotted in the New Year's Six bowl game conversation, and some even still saw the team as a College Football Playoff contender despite the Iowa loss three weekends ago.

That is no longer the case.

Ohio State welcomes the still not bowl eligible Nittany Lions this weekend, and a 17.5-point spread suggests they won't clinch win six there. Regardless, it's still a team that will head to some kind of final game following the regular season. Where will it be?

Here's what the experts are saying prior to Week 9.

Stewart Mandel of The Athletic: Dropped the Nittany Lions out of his New Year's Six projections.

Jerry Palm of CBS Sports: Outback Bowl vs. Texas A&M

College Football News Staff: Outback Bowl vs. Florida

Kyle Bonagua of ESPN: Outback Bowl vs. Florida

Mark Schlabach of ESPN: Outback Bowl vs. Arkansas

Action Network: Las Vegas Bowl vs. Arizona State

Saturday Tradition: Las Vegas Bowl vs. Arizona State

The consensus is clearly the Outback Bowl. The Nittany Lions have played in that bowl game four times, starting with a blowout over Florida to end the 1995 season. All-time, Penn State is 3-1 in the game, with its lone loss to the Gators to cap the 2010 season. It is the fourth game on the Big Ten's list, starting with the CFP and then going to the Rose Bowl and Citrus.

Two outlets projecting the Las Vegas Bowl is interesting. That game was canceled in 2020 and last featured a 38-7 Washington win over Boise State in 2019. It rotates between the SEC and Big Ten yearly, and this is the latter's cycle, which is why the Lions could end up there. The PAC-12 will always play in the game.

Our hunch is to side with the Las Vegas Bowl at this point in time.

Film Study: Penn State football suffers complete system failure vs. Illini

10 Things to Know: Penn State commit Joey Schlaffer

It's Penn State-Ohio State week: Spread, TV info, storylines, more

Which recruits were in attendance for Saturday's game vs. Illinois?

Underlying problems surface in Nittany Lions loss

What they're saying about Penn State football's stunning loss to Illinois

*******

• Talk about this article inside The Lions Den

• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel

• Sign up for our daily newsletter and breaking news alerts

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue-White Illustrated

• Follow us on Twitter: @BWIonRivals, @NateBauerBWI, @RivalsSnyder, @DavidEckert98, @GregPickel, @ThomasFrankCarr

• Follow us on Instagram

• Like us on Facebook