The non-conference schedule for Penn State in 2025 is, well, unthreatening.
The James Franklin Nittany Lions will host Nevada on August 30, Florida International on September 6, and Villanova on September 13 to begin the season.
Every Big Ten team participates in nine conference games. Not every major conference does.
The ACC, which is home to Pat Narduzzi’s Panthers, and the SEC don’t.
For Franklin, who is currently in his 12th season as head coach of the Lions program, that is an issue.
During his presentation at Big Ten Media Days last week in Las Vegas, Franklin was questioned about non-conference scheduling, particularly about Pittsburgh’s return to Penn State’s schedule.
“It might happen,” Franklin said. However, scheduling for non-conferences would need to be consistent.
Franklin remarked, “I love having scheduling conversations outside of conferences.”
I would be all for a Pitt conversation. We’ve played non-conference games against Pitt, West Virginia, and Auburn, all of which ended admirably.
The good news is that each of us can design our plans anyway we see fit.
In 2021–2022 and 2023–2024, Penn State swept home-and-home series against Auburn and West Virginia, respectively.
During a four-season span from 2016 to 2019, Franklin’s Lions and Pat Narduzzi’s Panthers last faced off, with PSU winning three of the four meetings.
Before it ended in 2000, the Penn State-Pitt matchup was one of the most anticipated in the sport. There have been 101 games between the Lions and Panthers.
What prevents the Penn State-Pittsburgh series from starting again in the era of college football playoffs?
I have been talking about the same subject for a while, and that is what I struggle with. According to Franklin, this remains unchanged.
The amount of conference games required of each player is the same. This isn’t so difficult, is it? Either everyone should play nine or everyone should play eight.
Franklin went on to say that a non-conference schedule from a conference that plays eight games will appear different than one from a conference that plays nine games. We already have another strong conference team scheduled for the Big Ten. You’re not making the same comparisons. It will not have the same appearance. Nine conference games have already been played. Where does it make sense?
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