Kickoff Time Set for Michigan State-Penn State Football
The kickoff time for when Michigan State faces Penn State on Nov. 15 has been set.
On Monday, the Big Ten announced the television schedule for its Week 12 games. That announcement says that the Spartans' and the Nittany Lions' game that determines possession of the Land Grant Trophy will begin at 3:30 p.m. ET. As for TV stations, it will either be on CBS or the Big Ten Network.
MSU will enter the game with a 3-6 overall record and a 0-6 mark against Big Ten opponents. The Spartans are entering a bye week, so Penn State is the team's next opponent. Michigan State lost to Minnesota 23-20 in overtime on Saturday.
Chances are, the Nittany Lions' record will be no different. PSU is 3-5 overall and 0-5 in conference play, with the most recent loss coming at No. 1 Ohio State, 38-14. Penn State's next game is against No. 2 Indiana in Happy Valley on Nov. 8.
A Quick Look at the Nittany Lions' Season
While MSU's season has certainly seemed disastrous, Penn State's is probably even more so, just because of what the preseason expectations were versus the current reality.
The Spartans were thinking bowl eligibility and maybe a seventh or eighth win. It was national championship or bust for the Nittany Lions, who were No. 2 in the AP's preseason poll.
Things started innocently enough. PSU had an extremely soft non-conference schedule of Nevada, FIU, and FCS Villanova. The Nittany Lions did what a team of its early ranking should do, and beat all three of those teams by at least 34 points.
Then came the early big one. Penn State's famous "White Out" for the Big Ten opener against Oregon in what was a rematch of last year's Big Ten title game. The Nittany Lions were third nationally, and the Ducks were sixth.
The knock on James Franklin had always been that he could not win big games, and that stayed true. Penn State came back from down 17-3 in the fourth quarter to force overtime, but starting quarterback Drew Allar threw a pick in double-OT to end the game.
Something about that game seemed to break the spirit of the Nittany Lions a bit. A week later, UCLA, previously 0-4, upset Penn State in what started a three-game winning streak for the Bruins that also left Michigan State in its wake.
After a 22-21 home loss to Northwestern, PSU fired James Franklin in the middle of his 12th season. Allar also suffered a season-ending injury during that game, which means the Nittany Lions' new starting QB is Ethan Grunkemeyer.
Interim head coach Terry Smith has tried to get his team to keep fighting, but has gone 0-2 so far. Penn State lost at Iowa 25-24 during Smith's debut, and then lost that aforementioned game to Ohio State.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.