Penn State’s September schedule just got a bit more interesting, and difficult. A Big Ten conference game with Michigan, originally scheduled to be played October 15, 2016, has been moved up to September 24, 2016. In addition, a 2017 game against Iowa originally scheduled for November 5 will also be moved up on the calendar, to September 23, 2017. The changes to Penn State’s schedule were announced today.
Schedule update! The 2016 game at Michigan has been moved to Sept. 24, 2016, while the 2017 game at Iowa has been moved to Sept. 23, 2017.
— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) November 2, 2015
Penn State will open the 2016 season at home against Kent State. The following week the in-state rivalry with Pittsburgh will be revived in Pittsburgh, and then Penn State will look for some revenge against the Temple Owls in the middle of September in Beaver Stadium. After that Penn State will head to Michigan. That could be a fascinating three-game stretch for Penn State. Penn State now has a bye week in the middle of October just before welcoming Ohio State to State College on October 22.
The adjustment to the schedule for the Iowa game also allows for a bye week just before hosting Michigan in 2017. Penn State may need that bye week as they return to action in a potentially brutal three-game stretch at home against Michigan, on the road at Ohio State and on the road at Michigan State.
Bumping up a road trip to Ann Arbor in September in 2016 means Penn State will play two games in the month of September for the first time since 2012. Penn State played road games at Virginia and Illinois that September, the first season with head coach Bill O’Brien.
Last season, Penn State played two games away from Beaver Stadium when they opened the season in Ireland against UCF and opened the Big Ten schedule with a road game at Rutgers. The Rutgers game was actually scheduled as a non-conference agreement between the two schools before Rutgers received an invite to the Big Ten but was left in place to make for easier scheduling for both schools once Rutgers accepted an invite to the conference.
In 2000, Penn State actually played three games away from Beaver Stadium before October. The Nittany Lions opened the season in the Kickoff Classic against USC in old Giants Stadium in late August and then later played back-to-back road games at Pittsburgh and Ohio State.
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