Four Non-Conference Opponents Penn State Should Consider Scheduling

When James Franklin was the head coach at Penn State, he believed winning Big Ten games that mattered was more important than hosting marquee non-conference matchups.

With the College Football Playoff expanding to 12 teams in 2024, and possibly moving up to 24 teams in the future, Franklin’s thought process might be right. Playing a tougher non-conference slate exposes a team to more potential losses and can be an unnecessary risk.

However, a tougher non-conference schedule also can lead to more rivalry matchups, more fan interest and better attendance, important for Penn State and its $700 million Beaver Stadium renovation. New Penn State coach Matt Campbell said at his introductory press conference last December that rivalries are what make college football “really great.”

Penn State's future non-conference schedule features few rivals. The Nittany Lions will play a home-and-home with Temple beginning this season and start a two-game series with Syracuse in 2027.

The rest of the non-conference schedule over the next three seasons includes Marshall, Maine, Ball State and UMass. If the Nittany Lions want to reignite some rivalries through their non-conference slate, here are a few opponents they should try to schedule in the future.

Pitt Panthers

Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi looks on from the sideline against the Penn State Nittany Lions. — Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi looks on from the sideline against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Pitt is the most obvious non-conference team Penn State could schedule to refresh a rivalry. The teams met regularly throughout the 1900s but have played only four times since 2000. Even Campbell has memories of the Pitt-Penn State rivalry, as he attended the 1998 game at the former Pitt Stadium.

“Penn State comes into Pitt I think after a long drought of games played at old Pitt Stadium, and I think the rivalry had been shut down,” Campbell said last December. “Warming up for the game, I’m sitting on the sidelines [and see] Joe Paterno, LaVar Arrington, Courtney Brown, running out to Pitt Stadium and I said, ‘Holy cow, this is big-time.’ It’s ingrained in my head for the rest of my life and it was one of the great memories I’ve ever had.”

Pitt and Penn State played a four-game series from 2016-19, in which the Nittany Lions went 3-1. Penn State holds a 53-43-4 record over the Panthers all-time, so bringing this matchup back would reignite a storied in-state rivalry. The game has been a conversation topic for years, but Penn State has not seemed interested in renewing the series.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

The Penn State-Notre Dame rivalry was recently renewed, as the teams played in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Orange Bowl in 2025. It was a close game that came down to the final minute, with the Fighting Irish making a game-winning field goal for a 27-24 victory.

The game, which had the stakes of a national championship appearance on the line, brought back tensions between fan bases that had not felt them since 2007. Penn State has faced Notre Dame 20 times dating to 1913.

The Fighting Irish hold a 10-9-1 advantage in the series, and the matchup saw memorable moments even before Notre Dame’s Orange Bowl win. Penn State had its first full-stadium White Out against the Fighting Irish in 2007, when the Nittany Lions won 31-10.

Virginia Tech Hokies

Penn State and Virginia Tech have never played, so now would be a perfect time to start a rivalry since Franklin took the head coaching job with the Hokies after getting fired by the Nittany Lions last year.

The programs already have a recruiting rivalry going, having competed for some prospects in the 2027 class. That includes quarterback Peter Bourque, who committed to Virginia Tech, and safety Caleb Cooper, who recently chose Penn State over Virginia Tech and other schools. Discourse on social media between the fan bases has ramped up through the coaching changes and recruiting duels.

Matchups between Penn State and Virginia Tech were scheduled for 2020 and 2025, but the series was scrapped after COVID canceled Penn State’s 2020 non-conference slate. These programs should schedule a new home-and-home series and further the rivalry.

West Virginia Mountaineers

While Penn State and West Virginia just played a home-and-home series in 2023-24, there should be more matchups scheduled between the teams. The Mountaineers are another one of the Nittany Lions’ more historic opponents, with the series dating to 1904.

Penn State holds a 50-9-2 record in the series, including wins in both of the recent games. Penn State drew 110,747 fans to Beaver Stadium for the 2023 Helmet Stripe game, the eighth-largest crowd in Beaver Stadium history. West Virginia’s Stripe the Stadium game in 2024 drew 62,084 fans to Morgantown, where Penn State won 34-12.

The Penn State-West Virginia series might not be as historic as Penn State-Pitt, but renewing this series again would give Campbell and the Nittany Lions another opportunity to have a regional rival on the schedule.

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