Penn State’s first Big Ten test of the season now has a kickoff time and a home on the streaming calendar.
The No. 14 Nittany Lions will face Wisconsin at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26 at Beaver Stadium, with the game set to stream exclusively on Peacock.
That matchup carries a few extra layers for Penn State. It will be the team’s conference opener, and it also falls on Homecoming and the Helmet Stripe game in Beaver Stadium, where the stadium is dressed in white except for a pair of blue sections in the middle.
It will also be the first time Penn State and Wisconsin have played at Beaver Stadium since November 2018. The Nittany Lions have taken six straight in the series, including wins at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison in 2021 and 2024. Penn State leads the overall series, 12-9.
Wisconsin enters at 1-1 after opening with a 41-13 loss to then-No. 4 Notre Dame at Lambeau Field in Green Bay on Sept.
- The Badgers bounced back this past weekend with a 36-9 win over FCS Western Illinois in Madison.
In that victory, quarterback Colton Joseph, the prized Old Dominion transfer, completed 12 of 22 passes for 173 yards and a touchdown while adding four carries for 33 yards. Running back Abu Sama III, who played for Penn State coach Matt Campbell at Iowa State, ran eight times for 107 yards and a 72-yard touchdown.
Before making the trip to State College, Wisconsin will host Eastern Michigan to finish non-conference play.
Penn State, meanwhile, is 2-0 after a 27-9 win over Temple in Philadelphia on Saturday. The Nittany Lions trailed 3-0 in the second quarter, then ripped off 27 points across their next five possessions to pull away before giving up a late touchdown.
The Nittany Lions close non-conference play against Buffalo on Saturday at Beaver Stadium, where they are heavy favorites. Penn State also checked in at No. 14 in the latest AP Top 25 Poll, moving up four spots from the start of the season.
Penn State’s remaining schedule includes a Sept. 26 meeting with Wisconsin, a Friday road game at Northwestern on Oct. 2, a White Out against USC on Oct. 10, and the rest of the Big Ten slate that follows through the end of November.
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Penn State Sent A Clear Message After That Hit On Rocco Becht
Late hits on quarterbacks have a way of revealing a teams temperament, and Penn State has now shown two very different versions of itself in those moments. Back in the 2021 loss to Illinois, the reaction was muted, with James Franklin saying afterward that he preferred the officials to handle that kind of play. In the recent game against Temple, though, the response around Rocco Becht looked a lot more unified, with the offense and the rest of the group making it clear they were not going to let a teammate get left on an island after he took the shot.
That shift in body language mattered because it came with the usual balancing act every team faces in those situations: stand up for your quarterback without turning it into a penalty parade. Matt Campbell and Becht both pointed to the teams togetherness afterward, and it fit the bigger picture around Penn States sideline, where protecting one another is becoming part of the message as much as any play call. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Alumni Made Immediate NFL Noise In Week 1
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There was more than scoring on the resume, too. Jaquan Brisker turned in a strong day with an interception and multiple tackles, Parker Washington scored despite some contract uncertainty hanging over his future, and Saquon Barkley logged a notable 42-yard rush. Joey Porter Jr. was sidelined by a back injury while his contract situation remains unsettled, and Kaytron Allen also made his regular-season debut with the Washington Commanders, adding another Penn State name to a busy opening week. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Has A Big Ten Opening Fans Cant Ignore
The early Big Ten picture is already starting to take shape, and Penn State followers have reason to keep one eye on the conference landscape even before the league race fully settles in. A new look at the league's first stretch of games puts Big Ten teams in a broader Power Conference context, measuring how the conference has stacked up against the SEC while sorting teams into tiers based on what they've shown so far.
For Penn State, the bigger issue is not just where the Nittany Lions sit right now, but how the rest of the league has looked around them. The analysis points to clear strengths and weaknesses across the Big Ten, and the kinds of early results that can create an opening for one team to separate from the pack if it keeps handling its business. [Read more 🡒]