Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1524108
A U G U S T 2 0 2 4 19 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / T H E B I G P I C T U R E / / / / / / / those losses frequently posed an insur- mountable barrier to entry. No two-loss team ever made the four-team field. Going forward, however, Penn State won't be playing the Buckeyes and Wol- verines annually. The Nittany Lions will miss Michigan this year and next, and when the Wolverines return to the slate in 2026, the Buckeyes will drop off for two years. If those gaps feel strange considering how durable the two rival- ries have been, consider this: The next time Ohio State sees the inside of Beaver Stadium after this year's visit on Nov. 2, PSU's $700 million renovation project will not only be complete, but the refur- bished stadium will have been in use for more than a year. The tradeoff is that Penn State will be traveling to the storied Big Ten foot- ball hotbed of Los Angeles the next two years, first to play USC on Oct. 12 and then to face UCLA sometime in 2025. This year's slate also includes visits from UCLA on Oct. 5 and Washington on Nov. 9. The Bruins and Huskies have both undergone coaching overhauls, so this might be an opportune time to welcome them to State College. Another factor that figures to work in the Nittany Lions' favor this fall is the expansion of the playoff to 12 teams. In six of the past eight seasons, Penn State has finished in the top 12 of the final CFP poll; if the new format had been in place from the start, the Lions would already be playoff fixtures. Better late than never, though, and with 13 players returning who started at least six games on last year's 10-3 team, Penn State has the manpower to feel hopeful heading into Franklin's 11th season. The Lions have appeared as high as seventh and as low as 16th in various preseason polls. For now, all they know is that their journey will begin in West Virginia. Where those country roads take them from there is anyone's guess. ■