Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1503568
A U G U S T 2 0 2 3 11 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M cided by a last-second field goal. The Nittany Lions haven't played host to the Trojans since September 1994, a 38-14 win in which Ki-Jana Carter rushed for 119 yards. The Lions haven't paid a visit to the Trojans' home field since September 1991. Fifth-ranked Penn State fell 21- 10 that night amid a flurry of mistakes. The Lions fumbled 7 times, gave up 5 sacks and were flagged for 90 yards in penalties. UCLA hasn't been to State College since the early years of the Joe Paterno coaching era. The Bruins beat Paterno in each of his first two seasons, deal- ing him a 49-11 loss at the Rose Bowl in 1966 and a 17-15 defeat the following year in State College. Penn State earned a measure of re- demption in 1968, winning 21-6 in Los Angeles. The teams haven't faced each other since. The end of Big Ten divisional play also means the end of annual games against Ohio State and Michigan. The Nittany Lions won't see the Wolverines next year but will visit Ann Arbor in 2025. As for the Buckeyes, they will travel to Beaver Stadium in 2024 but won't play Penn State the following year. The discontinuation of the East and West divisions has been seen as a win for the Nittany Lions, Buckeyes and Wolverines, who, as divisional oppo- nents, have routinely gotten in each other's way on the road to the College Football Playoff. Penn State has com- piled a 4-14 record against the Buckeyes and Wolverines since the start of the Franklin coaching era in 2014. The competitive imbalance between the divisions has been a frequent com- plaint within the Big Ten. The East Di- vision has sent eight teams to the play- off since its inception in 2014, while the West has yet to propel one of its mem- bers to the CFP field. New Big Ten commissioner Tony Pe- titti said that one of the league's priori- ties in abandoning its divisional struc- ture was to reduce such disparities. "With the ability to see more oppo- nents, you start thinking about com- petitive balance," Petitti told the Big Ten Network. "I think this format eliminates some of those [schedule-strength] con- cerns and takes that off the table." NO RIVALRY GAME One of the Big Ten's other priorities was to maintain its traditional rivalries and trophy games. It is allowing each school to have as many as three pro- tected rivals. So, for exam- ple, Iowa will play Nebraska, Minnesota and Wisconsin every year. Other schools have one or two opponents they will face annually. Penn State is the only team in the conference with no protected rivalry game. While the Nittany Lions will see some opponents in both years of the 2024-25 cycle (Michigan State, Rutgers and USC), that lineup can and will change in future years. Some were caught off guard by the Nit- tany Lions' standing as the only Big Ten team without a rival, but the flexibility opens up numerous possibilities. "What week would be the White Out?" BTN analyst Howard Griffith asked. "You have no idea. There are a lot of options. It's going to be exciting to continue to see that program grow." The 2024 schedule will indeed feature a number of White Out possibilities. USC hasn't played a game on the East Coast since losing 37-31 at Boston College in 2014, while Nebraska will be in the second year of coach Matt Rhule's tenure. There's also the old standby Ohio State, which has played in five White Outs since 2005. The only certainty for now is that Franklin won't be engaging in any of that speculation. With this year's season- opening matchup against West Virginia looming on Sept. 2, the 10th-year Penn State coach has more pressing matters to attend to. "West Virginia, West Virginia, training camp, training camp," he said. "All that good stuff is really my focus." ■ "With the ability to see more opponents, you start thinking about competitive balance. I think this format eliminates some of those [schedule- strength] concerns and takes that off the table." B I G T E N C O M M I S S I O N E R T O N Y P E T I T T I PENN STATE 2024 BIG TEN OPPONENTS HOME Michigan State Nebraska Northwestern Ohio State USC AWAY Indiana Purdue Rutgers Wisconsin PENN STATE 2025 BIG TEN OPPONENTS HOME Illinois Minnesota Rutgers UCLA AWAY Iowa Maryland Michigan Michigan State USC TixManJim@gmail.com www.TixManJim.com at