Big Ten Announces Kickoff Time for Penn State-Michigan Game

Penn State and Michigan are both 0-2 in the Big Ten for the first time since the Nittany Lions joined the conference in 1993. As a result, they won't play a night game Oct. 17 in Ann Arbor.

The Big Ten on Monday announced kickoff and broadcast times for the Oct. 17 slate of conference games, and the Penn State-Michigan game did not get the prime-time window as had been anticipated.

Instead, the Nittany Lions and Wolverines will meet at 3:30 p.m. ET at Michigan Stadium. Broadcast information has yet to be determined.

Penn State is 0-2 in Big Ten play for the second straight season after a 34-13 loss at Northwestern on Friday. The Wildcats rolled up 413 yards rushing and held Penn State to 48 in a dominant performance to open New Ryan Field.

Michigan, meanwhile, lost 20-14 to Minnesota last week, falling to 0-2 in the Big Ten for the first time since 2014, Brady Hoke's final season as the Wolverines' head coach. Minnesota won the Little Brown Jug on its home field for the first time in 49 years.

"I'm still trying to figure it out. I've been in this profession for 40-plus years, and this is the biggest challenge I've had," Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham said. "We will get it figured out, I promise you that. I'm not sure what the timeline is, but I promise you we'll get it figured out at some juncture. A lot of answers that we've got to come up with, because we've got so many deficiencies."

Penn State and Michigan will meet for the first time since 2023, when the Wolverines won 24-14 on their way to the national championship. Michigan has won three straight games over Penn State and leads the Big Ten series 17-10.

Penn State is 4-10 at Michigan Stadium, winning there just once since 2009 (a 27-17 victory during the 2020 Covid season).

Here’s an early look at the Week 7 @bigten schedule 🏈 pic.twitter.com/xdzk6wKszU
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) October 5, 2026

Penn State hosts White Out before visiting Michigan

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Matt Campbell looks on from the sideline in the fourth quarter vs. the Wisconsin Badgers. — Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Matt Campbell looks on from the sideline during the fourth quarter vs. the Wisconsin Badgers at Beaver Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Before traveling to Michigan for the first time, Penn State coach Matt Campbell looks to right his team's ship against the only ranked opponent on his regular-season schedule. No. 19 USC visits Beaver Stadium on Saturday for the first time since 1994. Not coincidentally, Penn State will host USC for the annual White Out.

This White Out has a far different feel than last year's, however, when Penn State hosted Oregon as the unbeaten second-ranked team in the country. For Campbell's first White Out, Penn State has two Big Ten losses for the first time since 2016.

White Out ticket prices on the resale market have fallen by more than half since Penn State's loss at Northwestern, as the Nittany Lions have yet to beat a Power 4 team this season. Penn State offensive lineman Cooper Cousins sought to reset the team's perspective after the Northwestern loss.

"The biggest thing is, you can have a victim mentality or a victor mentality," Cousins said late Friday night at New Ryan Field. "So my biggest focus, not only for the team right now but even for myself, is to not have a victim mentality, because we’ve got a good opponent next week and we've got to get ready to go."

KIckoff for the Penn State-USC game is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC's Big Ten Saturday Night.

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