Penn State’s 2023 schedule has arrived and the Nittany Lions will look to start the [probable] Drew Allar era with a fairly favorable schedule both home and away. Here are five facts to know about the Nittany Lions’ 2023 slate.
Seven Weeks Before Big Ten East Play: Penn State will make it all the way until Oct. 21 before facing a single Big Ten East opponent, having spent the first half of the year playing non-conference games and three straight contests against Big Ten West teams. A bye week in early October and a meeting against UMass round out a unique start to the season before a marathon of Big Ten East games that will truly determine how the Nittany Lions’ season will unfold.
20 Days To Prepare: Penn State will finish out September at Northwestern but will go 20 days between that game and facing Ohio State in Columbus. In between Penn State will have a bye week and an Oct. 14 meeting with UMass prior to that clash with the Buckeyes. All told, Penn State will play two games over the course of nearly a month between Sept. 24 and Oct. 20.
Five Of Eight: Penn State will spend the bulk of the season facing fairly light travel as the Nittany Lions will only need to leave the state twice from Oct. 1 until Nov. 18. Once will come with that trip to Ohio State and the other will fall on Nov. 4 as Penn State makes a fairly short trip to College Park, Maryland to take on the Terps. Penn State will spend five of the last eight weeks of the year at home.
UMass Changes: Penn State was originally supposed to host UMass on Nov. 11 for a very SEC-like scheduling perk that would give the Nittany Lions something of a more relaxed week prior to a trip to Rutgers. Now that this game has been moved to Oct. 14, Penn State will have a much more friendly game coming out of the bye, and a much easier game to work with ahead of a trip to Ohio State. Trap game emotions are strong here, but Penn State will happily take a much more favorable middle portion of the schedule compared to this year’s Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio State gauntlet.
13 Out Of 14: Penn State’s trip to Illinois will mark the eighth straight season that Penn State has started its Big Ten campaign on the road, a point of contention for both head coach James Franklin and new athletic director Patrick Kraft. It will also mean the Nittany Lions have started conference play on the road 13 out of the last 14 seasons.
“It is incredibly frustrating and disappointing Penn State will be starting our Big Ten football slate next year on the road for the eighth-straight season and for the 13th time in the last 14 years,” Kraft said in a statement on Wednesday. “When I arrived on campus, I shared with the conference staff my concerns and repeatedly referenced their failure to address this issue in the past. I have been in communication with Commissioner Warren and I am confident this issue will be addressed moving forward.”
The newly released schedule [Left]/the previously released schedule [right].
Sept. 2 – vs. West Virginia/vs. West Virginia
Sept. 9 – vs. Delaware/vs. Delaware
Sept. 16 – at Illinois/at Illinois
Sept. 23 – vs. Iowa/at Northwestern
Sept. 30 – at Northwestern/BYE WEEK
Oct. 7 – BYE WEEK/vs. Indiana
Oct. 14 – vs. UMASS/at Michigan State
Oct. 21 – at Ohio State/at Ohio State
Oct. 28 – vs. Indiana/Iowa
Nov. 4 – at Maryland/vs. Michigan
Nov. 11 – vs. Michigan/vs. UMass
Nov. 18 – vs. Rutgers/vs. Rutgers
Nov. 25 – at Michigan State/at Maryland
