Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1509432
1 2 N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Penn State will welcome Washington to Beaver Stadium for the first time next year as part of the Big Ten's latest schedule revision. On Oct. 5, the conference announced home and away match- ups for the next five Big Ten seasons. There are no dates yet for any of the upcoming games, but Big Ten teams now know who they will be playing up through the 2028 season. A previous set of schedules for the next two years had been released following the addition of USC and UCLA, but those slates had to be revised when the Big Ten continued gobbling up former Pac-12 teams with the addition of Oregon and Wash- ington in August. Highlights for Penn State next year include a visit from Washington. The Nittany Lions have played the Huskies only three times, and never in State College. The series began in 1921 when Penn State defeated Washington 21-7 in Seattle. The Lions also beat the Huskies 13-10 in the Aloha Bowl in 1983 and 35-28 in the Fiesta Bowl in 2017. In addition to Washington, Penn State will also play host to UCLA next season, welcoming the Bruins to State College for the first time since 1967. And while they get to face coach Chip Kelly's offense in the friendly confines of Beaver Stadium, they will have to travel to Los Angeles at some point next year. One of the marquee road games on their 2024 slate is a visit to USC to face coach Lincoln Riley's Trojans. The only member of the Big Ten's new West Coast quartet that Penn State won't see in 2024 is Oregon. The Ducks aren't slated to play PSU until 2025, when they will pay their first visit to Beaver Stadium since 1964. Previously, Penn State was to face Michigan State, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State and USC at home in 2024, and In- diana, Purdue, Rutgers and Wisconsin on the road. In 2025, the Lions were to host Illinois, Minnesota, Rutgers and UCLA while traveling to Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State and USC. Penn State remains the only Big Ten team without any protected rivals, which means it isn't guaranteed to face any opponent in consecutive seasons. In July, athletics director Patrick Kraft said that neither he nor coach James Franklin were bothered by the absence of a protected opponent. "The conference handles all the scheduling," Kraft said. "James and I laughed [and said], 'Well, we really are unrivaled. We say it.' "It gets to be a little bit of a political thing, of push and pull, but it is what it is. We'll play whoever. We don't get to dictate sched- ules. And it shouldn't be that way. We'll line up and play anybody and move on." With the addition of four new teams, Penn State will no longer play Ohio State and Michigan annually. That's because the current divisional structure is being scrapped after the current season. The Lions will face Ohio State at home in 2024 and '28 and travel to Columbus in 2025. They will travel to Michigan in 2026 and play host to the Wolverines in 2027. There are likely to be some mixed feelings among fans now that Penn State's most anticipated Big Ten games are no longer going to be contested annually. However, Kraft said the tradeoff will be a schedule full of enticing, competitive matchups. "You look at the Big Ten now, and every game is going to be a battle," he said. "I know our fans would probably say, Ohio State, they want that game. And the reality is, we'll play them. Even without divisions, we're going to continue to play them. "James and I both have the same philosophy. … When it comes down to how you're going to play, who you're going to play, and when you're going to play, that's not our place. We've just got to go beat the people in front of us, no matter who it is." ■ PENN STATE'S 2024-28 BIG TEN OPPONENTS 2024 Home: Illinois, UCLA, Ohio State, Maryland, Washington Away: Minnesota, Purdue, USC, Wisconsin 2025 Home: Indiana, Northwestern, Nebraska, Oregon Away: Iowa, Michigan State, Ohio State, Rutgers, UCLA 2026 Home: Minnesota, Purdue, Rutgers, USC, Wisconsin Away: Maryland, Michigan, Northwestern, Washington 2027 Home: Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Washington Away: Illinois, Indiana, Oregon, Purdue, Wisconsin 2028 Home: Indiana, Iowa, Ohio State, Oregon, UCLA Away: Michigan State, Nebraska, Rutgers, USC New Big Ten Slates Will Revive Dormant West Coast Rivalries 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 Penn State will make its first appearance at Oregon's Autzen Stadium during the 2027 season. The Ducks will visit Beaver Stadium in 2025. PHOTO BY MATT HERB