Penn State football’s trip to Northwestern will be a historic one.
The Nittany Lions’ Week 5 matchup against the Wildcats will be played on Friday, Oct. 2, at the new Ryan Field, Penn State confirmed on Tuesday. It will be the first game played at the stadium, which was built over the site of the old Ryan Field, which had hosted Northwestern home games from 1926-2023.
Due to waning attendance and aging infrastructure, Northwestern decided to build a new state-of-the-art facility, which decreases capacity significantly but provides major upgrades to the venue, with a construction project valued at $862 million. The Wildcats’ first two home games against South Dakota State and Colorado will be played at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium, a temporary on-campus facility that also hosts soccer and lacrosse games.
Coincidentally, former head coach James Franklin was fired following a 22-21 loss to Northwestern last season, and head coach Matt Campbell will be the first opposing coach at the Wildcats’ stadium, marking the start of a new era for both squads.
When the Big Ten released dates for conference games a week ago, the matchup was slated for Saturday, Oct. 3, but it will now be played a day earlier. It’ll be Penn State’s first regular-season weekday game since playing Michigan State at Ford Field on Friday, Nov. 24, 2023.
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