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Penn State season opener against West Virginia set for Big Noon Kickoff on FOX: Sources

Mug-Shot 4x4by: Ryan Snyder05/30/24RyanSnyderOn3
PSU v. WVU (Photo by Steve Manuel)
Penn State running back Nick Singleton. (Photo Credit: Steve Manuel | Blue White Illustrated)

Penn State will hit the road this year for its season opener, wrapping up a home-and-home against West Virginia that started when the Nittany Lions won handily last fall, 38-15, in State College. However, the Mountaineers are also coming off a strong 2023 season overall, winning five of their final six to finished 9-4 overall.

FOX will officially announce the start time for the Aug. 31 rematch in Morgantown later Thursday. But, sources told Blue-White Illustrated that the network will air the game at 12 p.m. ET that day as its first Big Noon Kickoff game of the season.

The upcoming announcement, which Blue-White Illustrated first told subscribers about earlier this month, shouldn’t be a surprise to those who follow the sports media scene closely. With ESPN now holding the rights to all games that originate from an SEC and ACC campus, FOX’s options are limited in Week 1 as both the Big Ten and Big 12 have fairly weak nonconference games set for that first week. Once Fresno State at Michigan was announced as an NBC selection for that same evening, it was clear the direction that FOX was headed.

When you add in the fact that the SEC and ACC feature some juicy matchups that’ll kick at 3:30 p.m. or later that evening – most notably Miami at Florida and Notre Dame at Texas A&M – both Penn State and West Virginia will be in a good position to bring in viewers. The only other notable game scheduled for 12 p.m. ET so far is Georgia vs. Clemson.

Once Penn State wraps up that season opener, the Nittany Lions won’t hit the road against until mid-October, as they’ll host Bowling Green (Sept. 7) before an early season bye week on Sept. 14. After the off week they’ll face Kent State (Sept. 21), Illinois (Sept. 28) and UCLA (Oct. 5) before making their lone West Coast road trip of the season against USC (Oct. 12).

After that, Penn State has another bye week before traveling to Wisconsin on Oct. 26. They’ll finish November with three home games against Ohio State (Nov. 2), Washington (Nov. 9) and Maryland (Nov. 30). They also have two road trips set to Purdue (Nov. 16) and Minnesota (Nov. 23).

As for when fans should expect more kick times, Bowling Green should be announced today, while Kent State and Illinois may also start to trickle out today or in the weeks ahead as multiple networks plan to announce some kick times at 2:30 p.m. ET Thursday. UCLA is also a game to circle. Ohio State’s game at Penn State will almost surely be another Big Noon Kickoff on FOX.