In This Case, the Name Isn’t Too Far Off : Blockbuster Bowl: Seventh-ranked Penn State, with a faint chance at No. 1, takes on Florida State tonight.

Who would have thought America might find a potential national champion playing on Dec. 28, not Jan. 1 . . . in Joe Robbie Stadium, not the Orange Bowl . . . for $1.6 million a team, not the $4.2 million the Orange Bowl pays . . . on Raycom TV, not one of the big three networks?

Introducing the infant Blockbuster Bowl, which makes its debut tonight (5 p.m. PST, Channel 13) and, surprisingly enough, features at least one team with faint, but possible, national title hopes. That, of course, would be Penn State, which plays Florida State in a matchup considered equal to any of those scheduled on New Year’s Day.

The Nittany Lions (9-2) would need a smallish miracle to leap from their seventh-place ranking to a spot atop the polls, but in this, the season of upsets, who knows? Penn State, which has won nine consecutive games, including a mid-November victory over then No. 1-rated Notre Dame, has to beat Florida State and then hope the following events transpire:

--Nebraska beats Georgia Tech in the Citrus Bowl.

--Notre Dame beats Colorado in the Orange Bowl.

--Miami beats Texas in the Cotton Bowl.

Even then, the chances of Penn State finishing first are slim, at best. Still, Nittany Lion Coach Joe Paterno plays the what-if game.

“If Georgia Tech wins, I think Georgia Tech ought to be the national champions,” Paterno said earlier this week. “If Texas and Georgia Tech get licked, then I think anybody has got a right to say they’re as good as anybody else.”

Penn State must first contend with a young and much-improved Florida State team. The Seminoles won their first four games, lost to Miami and then Auburn, and then won their last five games, including a convincing 45-30 victory over Florida. Paterno, in his pre-Blockbuster speech, said he can’t imagine any team playing better than Florida State at the moment.

“They’ve got all the weapons offensively and I didn’t expect them to be quite that aggressive defensively,” he told the Associated Press.

The sixth-ranked Seminoles have their share of talent. Quarterback Casey Weldon, who became the starter at midseason, has completed nearly 62% of his passes for 1,600 yards and a dozen touchdowns--not bad for a half-year’s work. In 162 attempts, Weldon, ranked third nationally in passing efficiency, has thrown only four interceptions.

Lawrence Dawsey, Florida State’s All-American wide receiver, caught 65 passes for 999 yards. In a 31-22 loss to Miami earlier in the year, Dawsey single-handedly kept the Seminoles in the game with catch after remarkable catch. Penn State will be hard-pressed to keep Dawsey’s hands off the ball.

In all, the Seminole offense averages about 40 points and nearly 450 yards a game.

In contrast, Penn State’s attack is more run oriented, more deliberate. Part of the philosophy is dictated by Paterno’s love for a rushing attack, which features tailback Leroy Thompson. The other part is dictated by the inconsistencies of quarterback Tony Sacca, who was benched earlier this season. Since then, Sacca has improved steadily. In fact, it was Sacca who performed best in the Nittany Lions’ upset of Notre Dame.

“(Paterno would) rather win a game 10-7 or 13-10,” Sacca said.

Translation: Unless absolutely necessary, don’t expect Sacca to be filling the south Florida skies with passes tonight.

Penn State averages 181 yards rushing and has a physically dominant offensive line.

The Nittany Lions’ strength is defense, where opponents averaged only 14 points and 278 yards a game. No team scored more than 21 points against Penn State all season. Defensive tackle Frank Giannetti is one of the reasons.

As you might expect, Blockbuster Bowl organizers are thrilled by the matchup. They wanted a respectable first-year showing; they got much better.

Penn State and Florida State became available when the major bowls began making invitation commitments several weeks before season’s end. Had, say, the Sugar Bowl waited, it could have had the Nittany Lions, instead of Virginia (8-3), loser of its last three games.

Tough luck. The Sugar gets Virginia vs. Tennessee. The Blockbuster gets a game that might live up to its name.

“I don’t think anybody has got two better clubs out there during the holidays,” Bowden said.