Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1486024
1 2 D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 2 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M I n what has become an annual tradition, Penn State will begin its 2023 Big Ten football season on the road. The Nittany Lions will open next year's conference slate Sept. 16 at Illinois. The matchup was revealed Oct. 26 when the Big Ten announced its revamped 2023 schedules. Penn State's visit to Champaign next September will mark the eighth consecu- tive year in which coach James Franklin's team has opened its conference season with a road trip. The last time the Nittany Lions began their Big Ten season at Beaver Stadium was in 2015, when they opened with a 28-3 win over Rutgers in Week 3. First-year athletics director Patrick Kraft said when he was hired last spring that he planned to take the matter up with league officials. After learning that the trend will continue for at least one more season, Kraft said in a prepared statement that he was unhappy to see PSU slated to travel again for its league opener. "It is incredibly frustrating and disap- pointing that Penn State will be starting our Big Ten football slate next year on the road for the eighth straight season and for the 13th time in the last 14 years," he said. "When I arrived on campus, I shared with the conference staff my concerns and repeatedly referenced their failure to address this issue in the past. I have been in communication with Commissioner [Kevin] Warren, and I am confident this issue will be addressed moving forward." While the Nittany Lions may not have been pleased to find themselves opening conference play on the road again, they have fared well in those seven previous games, winning five of them. Their only season-opening Big Ten losses since the streak started are to Michigan in 2016 and Indiana in 2020. The Lions haven't played at Illinois since September 2018, when they thrashed the Illini 63-24. Miles Sanders rushed for 200 yards and 3 touchdowns, pacing a Penn State ground attack that produced 387 yards and 6 scores. PSU trailed in the third quarter 24-21 before scoring 6 unan- swered touchdowns to close out the game. Next year's Big Ten home opener will take place on Sept. 23 when Iowa visits Beaver Stadium. The Lions' other home conference games are matchups against Indiana (Oct. 28), Michigan (Nov. 11), and Rutgers (Nov. 18). Big Ten East Division teams will all play five conference road games next year. In addition to their visit to Illinois, the Lions will also head to Northwestern (Sept. 30), Ohio State (Oct. 23), Maryland (Nov. 4), and Michigan State (Nov. 25). There were two other notable changes to the revised schedule. Penn State's bye is now one week later than it had been previously, with the team set to take Oct. 7 off. Also, the nonconference game against Massachusetts has been moved from Nov. 11 to Oct. 14. Penn State faces West Virginia and Del- aware in back-to-back weeks in noncon- ference play to open its schedule. The Big Ten has not yet released its football schedules beyond next year. With USC and UCLA set to join in 2024, the league is expected to unveil a new sched- uling model. According to an October re- port in The Athletic, league officials had considered scrapping the East and West Divisions next season but ultimately de- cided to stick with the current alignment for one more year. ■ 2023 Penn State Football Schedule Date Opponent Sept. 2 WEST VIRGINIA Sept. 9 DELAWARE Sept. 16 at Illinois Sept. 23 IOWA Sept. 30 at Northwestern Oct. 7 Bye Oct. 14 MASSACHUSETTS Oct. 21 at Ohio State Oct. 28 INDIANA Nov. 4 at Maryland Nov. 11 MICHIGAN Nov. 18 RUTGERS Nov. 25 at Michigan State On The Road Again: PSU To Travel For 2023 Big Ten Opener G R E G P I C K E L | G R E G. P I C K E L @ O N 3 . C O M Quarterback Trace McSorley accounted for 92 of Penn State's 387 rushing yards against Illinois in 2018. The Nittany Lions are slated to make their first trip back to Memorial Stadium in Champaign next year. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL