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Penn State

It's Penn State-Villanova week: Game time, spread, channel, streaming info, storylines, more

Greg Pickelby: Greg Pickel09/08/25GregPickel
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Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin (left) and Villanova Wildcats head coach Mark Ferrante (right) meet at midfield following the completion of the game at Beaver Stadium. Penn State defeated Villanova 38-17. (Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports)

Penn State finishes non-conference play on Saturday when it welcomes Villanova to Beaver Stadium. The Wildcats opened their 2025 season on Saturday by beating Colgate 24-17. The Wildcats were No. 13 in last week’s FCS poll and may rise this week. Head coach James Franklin’s team, meanwhile, took out FIU 34-0.

“Overall, I am pleased with the win,” Franklin said. “I think we made it harder than it needed to be in a lot of areas. We’re playing a bunch of young guys, and it felt like that at times. So, we have got to get those things cleaned up.”

Get ready for Lions-Wildcats with our early game preview.

Time and TV info

Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET. FOX Sports One will televise the game. The announcing crew is not yet available as of Monday morning.

What is the Penn State-Villanova point spread?

A point spread will not be out until Friday since this is an FBS vs. FCS game.

Game week schedule for the Lions

Penn State head coach James Franklin will kick off game week with a news conference at Noon ET. He will speak from the media room at Beaver Stadium, and you’ll be able to watch it on the Blue-White Illustrated YouTube channel by 12:45 if you click here.

Tuesday should bring with it some player interviews with reporters via ZOOM. Wednesday will feature some, as well, before a practice viewing availability for the media, followed by Franklin and some players speaking in the evening. Thursday features an assistant coach media call and Franklin’s weekly radio show. Then, the talking is done until after the game.

As for the Wildcats, head coach Mark Ferrante joins the CAA teleconference Monday morning at 11:10 a.m.

What’s up with Villanova?

The Wildcats won their 17th straight home game and started their season with a victory by knocking out Colgate. Quarterback Pat McQuaide, a grad student and Nicholls State transfer, tossed a touchdown and threw for 299 yards. He also added a rushing touchdown. The receivers to know are Luke Colella and Lucas Kopecky. They caught five passes for 124 yards and five for 98 and a touchdown, respectively. Linebacker JR Strauss paced the defense with eight tackles. The Wildcats put up 416 yards of total offense.

Weather report

Per Weather.com, the early forecast looks promising for tailgating and watching the game. It reads: “Partly cloudy. High 77F. Winds light and variable.”

Early Penn State-Villanova storylines

–Penn State has not been explosive on offense for two consecutive weeks. Will that change against an FCS opponent? Many fans will be watching the chunk play category closely.

–Who else is excited to see Chaz Coleman in action again after his strip sack on Saturday? The Nittany Lions freshman defensive end will get plenty of run this weekend.

–Can Penn State play its first clean, and complete, 60-minute game of the season? It feels like a must during this final tune-up before the bye week and then a visit from Oregon for the White Out game.

–What’s your top storyline to start the week? Tell us inside The Lions Den forum!