STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Penn State is going to the Capital One Bowl.

After two years of losing seasons -- and nearly two weeks of uncertainty -- the 10th-ranked Nittany Lions have accepted an invitation to the game in Orlando on Jan. 1.

"I cannot tell you how many people, including my own family, have said to me, 'Where are you going?' My mother in law is driving me nuts,'' Paterno said Tuesday after accepting the invitation.

"This team has worked hard all season and has been a great group to work with,'' coach Joe Paterno said Tuesday.

Penn State will play a team from the Southeastern Conference, where several schools are still in the running. Georgia plays Arkansas in the SEC championship game Saturday, and Tom Mickle, executive director of the bowl game, said Auburn also was in the mix.

"We just want to play a good football team, and I think we've been given an opportunity to play a great football team,'' Paterno said. "The three of them have great football traditions, pride, and would be a real challenge to us. And that's what we want -- we want to play someone good and do it on New Year's Day.''

It's the first time the Nittany Lions have gone to a bowl game since 1999, when they beat Texas A&M 24-0 in the Alamo Bowl and their first time in Orlando since a 21-6 loss to Florida on Jan. 1, 1998, in the Florida Citrus Bowl, the Capital One Bowl's previous name.

"Obviously, we're extremely excited to be able to offer an invitation to Penn State today and have them come play in our game this year,'' Mickle said. "They've had a great history down here. I think their last two games here are the two largest crowds in Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium history.''

Penn State had played in 11 consecutive bowl games before the 2000 season, when the Nittany Lions finished 5-7, their first of two straight losing seasons.

But Penn State stormed back this year. It was the first team to expose Nebraska's weakness, routing the eighth-ranked Cornhuskers 40-7 behind Zack Mills' passing and one of the country's best defensive lines. By the end of the season, tailback Larry Johnson set three Penn State single-game rushing records and finishing the season as the first Nittany Lion ever to rush for more than 2,000 yards.

The Nittany Lions became bowl eligible with an 18-7 victory over Illinois on Nov. 2, and Capital One Bowl officials said they were interested in Penn State after it finished the regular season 9-3 on Nov. 23. But because several teams, including Iowa, remained in play for bids in the Bowl Championship Series, it took nearly two weeks for Penn State to get the official invitation.