Penn State will play another game next weekend, but it doesn’t know who, or when or where.
The Big Ten, now just over a week out from its crossover divisional game, pitting the east against the west, has offered little insight into any of the specifics. And while it might be safe to assume things that have not been announced aren’t necessarily undecided behind closed doors, even Penn State coach James Franklin doesn’t know.
“That’s been a challenge and I don’t think it’s right, to be honest,” Franklin said about the schedule. “What I was told a week ago is that the West teams were all gonna come to the East because this is the year to do it, and next year we’re going to have to travel…then I heard today that may be changing, which I don’t think is right.”
Franklin’s objection stems from the previously released 2021 schedule. The Nittany Lions slated to travel to Wisconsin and Iowa, giving Penn State back-to-back years of traveling to west division schools after traveling to Nebraska earlier this year. How much this truly matters is a question up for debate, but not so much in eyes of Franklin.
Which team Penn State plays is slightly less of an obstacle than when and where. According to reports the Big Ten might opt for Friday night contests, the first of its kind if the Nittany Lions were to host at Beaver Stadium.
Traditionally Penn State has taken a stance that it would not host Friday night games, but with in-person recruiting a thing of the past and no fans to worry about, Franklin is less concerned about Friday night than he is the ongoing unknowns.
“I’m not typically a fan of Friday games because of high school football in the state of Pennsylvania,” Franklin said. “We don’t know where the games are, we don’t know who you’re playing, and on top of that, they’re saying there’s a possibility the games could be Friday and Saturday.”
Functionally the uncertainty opens all sorts of logistical issues. Penn State can scout the handful of teams it might be facing, but when it comes to travel, parents and the overall scheduling of the week, not much can be done in advance until teams have a time and a place.
In turn, if the games aren’t announced until Sunday afternoon, Penn State would have just four days to prepare.
Then again the same holds true for its opponent.
“The game’s next week and we still don’t really know,” Franklin said. “We were told one thing last week and now it’s different, is a little bit of a concern…I would like to be able to tell my [players’] parents what’s going on so they can make plans.”
Elsewhere in the Big Ten the conference’s decision to change the six-game rule in order to qualify for the conference title game – effectively in order to place Ohio State in that game- has been met with mixed emotions.
While Franklin still has wounds from Penn State’s lack of conference support following the 2016 season when Ohio State was pushed for the College Football Playoff instead of the Nittany Lions, he does see the overall objective as pragmatic in today’s day and age.
“I have opinions that go all the way back when we won the Big Ten championship,” Franklin said. “I do believe that it is the right thing to do to make sure the best team in the Big Ten is in the Big Ten Championship games, on the East side and the West side, especially when there’s things that are outside your control.”
So mark this down as the one time Penn State and Ohio State are on the same page.
