Penn State’s matchup with Minnesota now has a locked-in start time and TV home: the Nittany Lions and Golden Gophers will kick off at 7 p.m. on FS1.
That makes it the third night game Penn State has played this season, and FS1 will carry the team for the third time as well. The network aired Penn State’s first game of the Matt Campbell era on Sept. 5 against Marshall, then returned for PSU’s most recent outing, a 28-25 win at Washington on Nov. 7.
Through nine games, Penn State has already shown up across a wide spread of channels. Two games have been on FS1, one on ESPN2 against Temple, two on the Big Ten Network against Buffalo and Purdue, one on Peacock against Wisconsin, one on FOX against Northwestern and one on CBS against Michigan.
The kickoff times have been just as varied. Penn State has played three games at 3:30 - Marshall, Michigan and Wisconsin - while Temple and Buffalo both landed at noon. The rest of the slate has included a 5 p.m. start against Wisconsin, an 8 p.m. game against Northwestern, a 7:30 p.m. kickoff against USC and a 4:15 p.m. start against Purdue.
Minnesota’s trip to Beaver Stadium had already been set up as a night game, with the start time narrowed to either 7 p.m. or 7:39 p.m. earlier in the week. Because of the six-day window, the exact kickoff wasn’t revealed until late Saturday night.
Minnesota coach PJ Fleck is no stranger to Beaver Stadium under the lights. His only game there as Minnesota’s coach came in 2022, when Penn State rolled to a 45-17 win.
Penn State will be looking for a similar outcome this time.
In Other News...
Penn State Fans Finally Got An Encouraging Jack Ham Update
Jack Hams absence from the Penn State-Washington buildup was felt well beyond the broadcast booth, because the Penn State legend has long been one of the most recognizable voices attached to the program. Ahead of the game in Seattle, Ham experienced a medical emergency and was treated at the University of Washington Medical Center, prompting immediate concern from around the Penn State community.
Penn State athletics later confirmed that Ham is in stable condition, a reassuring development after a tense stretch for fans and those close to the program. Coach Matt Campbell and the broadcasters also offered updates and support for Ham and his family, underscoring how quickly the situation drew attention from both the football side and the radio side of Penn State life. [Read more 🡒]
Penn States Big Ten Position Suddenly Feels More Complicated
Week 10 did not give the Big Ten much help in sorting itself out. With Ohio State and Oregon both working through backup quarterbacks, and several league powers already dealing with injuries at the games most important position, the conferences pecking order has become harder to read than it looked a month ago. Even the teams that entered the year with the brightest expectations, including Ohio State, Indiana and Michigan, have had to navigate the ripple effects of quarterback uncertainty.
For Penn State, that makes the margin for error feel even thinner as the season heads into its late stretch. The Nittany Lions are still part of the conversation near the top of the league, but the recent shakeups around them have changed the backdrop of that race and made every result carry a little more weight. Add in the coaching changes and the shifting outlooks across the conference, and the Big Ten suddenly looks less like a clean hierarchy and more like a week-to-week argument. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Suddenly Has A Bigger Question Than Bowl Eligibility
Penn State is still sitting one win away from bowl eligibility, and the bowl chatter has already started to swirl around a team that has spent much of the fall in the middle of the pack. At 5-4, the Nittany Lions are being slotted by different outlets into a range of possible destinations, from the Dukes Mayo Bowl and Music City Bowl to the Cactus Bowl, Fenway Bowl and First Responder Bowl, which is a reminder that there is still plenty left to sort out before anyone starts packing bags.
ESPNs Football Power Index gives Penn State a 62.6 percent chance to win out the rest of the regular season and a 99.7 percent chance to get to six wins, so the postseason path looks clear enough on paper. The bigger question is what kind of finish the Nittany Lions can put together once they get there, because for a program with this profile, simply becoming bowl-eligible is only part of the conversation. [Read more 🡒]