2026 schedule release?
- Thread starter Thus Spake Mainer
- Start date
When will they release the release date for when the schedule is scheduled to be released?
Well i will allow them to take me to dinner the first night. We can finalize during our after dinner cocktails.
So I don’t understand why we bothered to cancel with UDel unless there was something in the contract that obligated PSU to pay them more than originally agreed upon since they moved to 1-A in the interim after the contract was signed. (Paydays for 1-A one shot schools are generally a good bit higher than for 1-AA ones.)
Maine obviously is a 1-AA school and should be cheap to play.
We do place a Power 4 school in 2017 with Syracuse.
Maine obviously is a 1-AA school and should be cheap to play.
We do place a Power 4 school in 2017 with Syracuse.
Wouldn’t mind seeing the Black Bears at Pegula. The Beav? Not so much.
That’s obvious but it doesn’t make much sense because the amount being contractual owed to UDel should be pretty much the same (and low). My guess is there must have been some sort of escalation clause in the original contract with UDel that indicated PSU would pay them a higher amount if they moved up to 1-A subsequently
Their helmets bring back bad memories.Penn State wants no part of Delaware.
Can we blame Sandy for this?
We can blame Sandy for the absolutely idiotic series against Temple though. A home and home with a worthless program like Temple is insane and literally costs PSU - and the State College community which thrives on home games - millions of dollars for no reason. And is the cause of the 2025 and 2026 non-conference schedules being beyond awful.
Well, in odd numbered years, PSU plays 4 home Conf games and 5 road conf games. And in those years, they play 3 home non conf games to give them 7 home games total. In even numbered years, PSU plays 5 home conf games and 4 road conference games. And in those years, the generally play 2 home non con and one road non conf games. Still gives them 7 home games total. On occasion, Penn State has played 8 home games.
They are not going to do anything about the way the conference schedules - the conference does that with every team.
As far as the State College community, they have long been used to 7 home games. Given the costs of attending a home game for many fans, including travel, tickets, hotels, meals, and especially with increasing costs, I am not sure having more than 7 home games would be prudent. Selfishly speaking, it's a 3 1/2 hour trip each way to SC and doing it multiple weeks in a row, which would happen with an extra home game, can get to be a bit much.
With the non con games in 2026, not sure if it was Sandy or Pat that did the agreement with Temple. But, considering the number of fans that PSU has in the area, a road game against Temple makes sense. Temple has, over the years, provided more home games for PSU than trips to Philly. PSU and Temple have played 45 times and 18 of those have not been in State College (17 in Philly and one in East Rutherford, NJ).
As far as why a 1-1 this time - who knows. Maybe they tried for a 2-1, which had been the norm for a while, and Temple said no. A quick review of P4 opponents for Temple seems to indicate 1-1 is the norm over the last few years. (Miami, Oklahoma come to mind, although they did do a 2-1 with Notre Dame when Matt Rhule was there).
But, it's generally an easy trip for a large number of PSU fans, which probably has something to do with it.
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First Look at Penn State's 2026 Football Schedule
The Nittany Lions appear to get a friendly schedule in Matt Campbell's first season.
www.si.com
| 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. 3 | 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 |
Of course Michigan has the week off before they play us. I am betting the whiteout will be USC
The schedule is so bad--only two decent games are back to back
Even with the roster rebuild we should be 5-0
Even with the roster rebuild we should be 5-0
I feel like 9-3 is very possible.
That’s me thinking we could lose to USC, @ Michigan & @ Washington. We could very well be better than that.
That’s me thinking we could lose to USC, @ Michigan & @ Washington. We could very well be better than that.
I am very interested in attending the Temple game. It is much closer to home! And let’s be honest, that will be 75% PSU fans.
We are going… then headed to Avalon for a week after game…
I looked at that schedule and thought 10-2. Lose to USC, UM and steal one from Washington. Might be able to beat USC, that's at Penn State. I think either 11-1 or 10-2 would get you into the playoff.
As to White Out, USC is the only team at home with "gravitas." Maybe Minnesota?
Otherwise, I would expect PSU to go 9-3 no problem. No Indiana, no OSU, no Oregon, no Iowa. Couldn't ask for an easier schedule (well, maybe MSU instead of USC or Michigan).
Must give the dude props for knowing where the wild things are. That drawing did look exactly like one from the book.
We could have 2 losses at that point and playing for our playoffs lives. I think we beat USC but lose on the road to Michigan and UDub. On the bubble for the playoff.
The big issue with scheduling road game with Temple is NOT "not getting 8 home games" (I know someone else brought that up).
The big issue is that scheduling the OOC road game with Temple means:
By scheduling the home and home with Temple, PSU cannot (unless it plays fewer than 7 home games a year - which it would never do) schedule any decent OOC games. Period. That is just bush league.
While:
OSU schedules home and home with Texas (and Alabama and Georgia)
Michigan schedules home and home with Oklahoma (and Texas and Notre Dame)
USC schedules home and home with Notre Dame (Yes, I know that series is likely to terminate - we will see who they set up future OOCs home-and-homes with. I don't expect it will be "Temple")
Washington schedules home and home with Tennessee
Heck, Purdue has upcoming home and home with Notre Dame and Ole Miss, and Indiana with home and home with Notre Dame - as does Michigan State, and Maryland has home and home with Virginia Tech, and Nebraska has Oklahoma and Arizona. Minnesota has Alabama.
But PSU schedules their OOC as if they were Rutgres.
Those schedules, of course, were set up by Sandy B and CJF (who insisted on a full buffet of cupcakes - so lay the appropriate level of responsibility on whomever you prefer).
How will PK approach OOC schedules?
Well, so far, IIRC, the three OOCs scheduled under Kraft have been Buffalo, UMass, and Maine (after dropping "too tough" Delaware?). Sounds like more of the same - maybe even weaker than the Sandy/CJF scrimmages. Are St Francis College and IUP available?
Embarrassing? Pathetic?
And they expect people to pay huge $$$ for that?
"Wut?".
The uber-cupcake OOC, along with the semi-random "luck of the draw" bottom fishing in the Big Ten slate, creates a 2026 schedule that would embarrass an ACC program.
Sooner or later, I would expect, it will be the TV folks who exert the pressure to upgrade schedules (with more good-vs-good conference games, and fewer dogmeat OOCs).
They pay a LOT of $ (around $1 Billion per year?) and to have one of their most attractive products (PSU) play 2, maybe 3, highly marketable games in an entire season (and even that is a generous description) - they can NOT be happy.
On the plus side for people (not "The Rick") who revel in punching down against the Temples/Delawares of the football world, PSU could be a rather mediocre team (by PSU/Big Ten standards) and end up with the best record in the Big Ten. Just about all the other contenders have 4-5-6 high quality games this year - to PSU's 2 or 3.
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I expect MtNittany was being TIC.
That said, this year's OOC - and the OOC for the next several years - are, obviously, the craft of CJF/Sandy.
Just as obviously, the weak as water Big Ten schedule is the responsibility of no one at PSU (unless one dreams that CJF/PK pressured the Big Ten to rotate OSU off the schedule - which I think is unlikely)