Penn State to Face Michigan State at Ford Field in Detroit on Black Friday

Penn State football will travel to face Michigan State this season for a primetime matchup on Black Friday, Nov. 24, at Ford Field in Detroit, both programs announced Wednesday. News broke earlier this week that the two teams would likely be headed toward a Black Friday clash, but the location of that game had been previously assumed to be in East Lansing.

“This is a unique opportunity, for both our football program and our fan base, to play a Black Friday game at Ford Field,” said MSU Vice President and Director of Athletics Alan Haller in a press release. “Southeast Michigan is home to 100,000 alums, nearly 50 percent of our student body and countless more Spartan fans. Our men’s basketball team has experienced tremendous support in Detroit, both at Ford Field and Little Caesars Arena, and we’re excited to bring Spartan Football to our fans in the Motor City. The city is important to our mission not only as an athletic department, but our entire University. We anticipate that the experience will be so much more than a football game for our Spartan faithful.”

“The decision to move a home game out of Spartan Stadium was given careful consideration, as we understand the impact it will have on some fans. As a community partner, we recognize home football brings benefits to the entire Mid-Michigan area. The fact that this game falls on a holiday weekend Friday increased our willingness make the move. I believe our season ticket holders still have a strong collection of home games highlighted by Michigan and a premier non-conference game against Washington, with a total of six home games just as we had in 2021.”

The game will kick on NBC and Peacock at 7:30 p.m. eastern. It is the third known kick time for Penn State’s upcoming 2023-24 home slate, with all three games [Sept. 2 vs. West Virginia, Sept. 23 vs. Iowa and Nov. 24 at Michigan State] set to kick at 7:30 or later on NBC or CBS.

“The Big Ten Conference is thrilled that Michigan State will be hosting Penn State at Ford Field in prime time on NBC,” Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti said. “We are incredibly grateful for the collaboration between our member institutions, broadcast partners, Ford Field and the Detroit Lions to provide this unique opportunity and incredible exposure for our student-athletes on Black Friday.”

2023 Penn State Football Schedule