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Penn State Sets First Kickoff Time for 2026 Football Season

The Nittany Lions open their Big Ten road schedule in prime time.
Mark Wogenrich|
The Penn State Nittany Lion mascot cheers during the third quarter against the Northwestern Wildcats at Beaver Stadium.
The Penn State Nittany Lion mascot cheers during the third quarter against the Northwestern Wildcats at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

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The 2026 Penn State football schedule has its first official kickoff time. Penn State announced that its Friday, Oct. 2, visit to Northwestern will kick off at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. The game will mark the first at Northwestern's new Ryan Field, which the university is calling the "best place to watch football in America."

Penn State announced in February that it had agreed to a major change to its 2026 schedule, as the Big Ten moved the Penn State-Northwestern game to Friday night to showcase Ryan Field's re-introduction. The game's date is significant, marking the 100th anniversary of Northwestern's first home football game in 1926.

Northwestern will play back-to-back Friday-night games, as its Big Ten opener against Indiana has been moved to Sept. 25. The Wildcats will get a regular week to prepare for Penn State, while the Nittany Lions will be on a short week after hosting Wisconsin in their Big Ten opener Sept. 26.

The new Ryan Field is an $862 million, privately funded stadium on the site of the former venue on Northwestern's campus. The new stadium, which has been under construction since June 2024, will seat 35,000 fans and is scheduled to be completed in mid-September. Northwestern will play its first two home games of 2026 at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium, the Wildcats' temporary venue.

"The opening of the new Ryan Field marks a defining moment for Northwestern Football and reflects our continued investment in excellence across every aspect of the program,"Mark Jackson, Northwestern's athletic director, said in a statement. "The opener against Penn State presented by FOX Sports provides us with an extraordinary stage to showcase the incredible stadium and the culture that head coach David Braun has established.

"We appreciate the dedication and support of our fans and campus community, and we look forward to welcoming them to the nation's greatest college football stadium that will elevate the student-athlete experience and bring us together in powerful and memorable ways."

Penn State will play a Friday-night game for the second time in four years. The Nittany Lions shut out Michigan State 42-0 in a 2023 Black Friday game at Ford Field in Detroit. The game is Penn State's first Big Ten road trip under head coach Matt Campbell, who hopes to cleanse the memory of last year's Penn State-Northwestern game.

In October 2025, the Nittany Lions brought a two-game losing streak into its home date vs. the Wildcats. Northwestern turned an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter into a 22-21 win over the Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. Penn State quarterback Drew Allar sustained a season-ending injury in the game, and Penn State fired head coach James Franklin the following day.

Northwestern went 7-6 last season and 4-5 in the Big Ten in David Braun's third season as head coach. This offseason, Braun added added offensive coordinator Chip Kelly to his staff, along with quarterbacks coach Jerry Neuheisel. Penn State certainly remember Neuheisel as the interim offensive coordinator at UCLA last season, when the Bruins defeated the Nittany Lions at the Rose Bowl.

Penn State 2026 football schedule

Date

Opponent

Location

Sept. 5

MARSHALL

Beaver Stadium

Sept. 12

Temple

Lincoln Financial Field

Sept. 19

BUFFALO

Beaver Stadium

Sept. 26

WISCONSIN

Beaver Stadium

Oct. 2

at Northwestern

Ryan Field

Oct. 10

USC

Beaver Stadium

Oct. 17

at Michigan

Michigan Stadium

Oct. 24

BYE

Oct. 31

PURDUE

Beaver Stadium

Nov. 7

at Washington

Husky Stadium

Nov. 14

MINNESOTA

Beaver Stadium

Nov. 21

RUTGERS

Beaver Stadium

Nov. 28

at Maryland

SECU Stadium

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Mark Wogenrich
MARK WOGENRICH

Mark Wogenrich is the editor and publisher of Penn State on SI, the site for Nittany Lions sports on the Sports Illustrated network. He has covered Penn State sports for more than two decades across three coaching staffs, three Rose Bowls and one College Football Playoff appearance.

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