Penn State picks 2025 White Out opponent; Who is it, and when will the game start?

The pick is in for the 2025 Penn State White Out game. And, Nittany Lion fans are going to love it for a couple of different reasons. For the first time since 2019, the annual tradition will feature both the best opponent on the home game portion of the schedule and a primetime kickoff. If we haven’t spelled it out for you by now, that means a White Out will be called for when Oregon invades Beaver Stadium on Sept. 27. BWI’s Ryan Snyder first told subscribers about the likelihood of it in May. The rematch of the 2024 Big Ten title game will air on NBC. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

Other Penn State kick times are also now in. The season opener with Nevada at 3:30 on CBS. BTN will air the Lions’ Week 2 clash with FIU at Noon ET. And, the Lions’ Oct. 11 visit from Northwestern, which is this year’s Homecoming game, will start at either Noon, 3:30, or 4 p.m. on a to-be-determined network.

The fact that the Ducks will experience their first White Out in their second season in the Big Ten is not a major surprise. They are by far the toughest team coming to town based on preseason rankings. Barring a surprising result early in the season, it will be a top 10 and perhaps even a top five showdown.

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But, before Thursday’s announcement, fans were rightly worried that the game could end up as one of FOX’s ‘B1G Noon’ picks for the season. That, of course, would have yet again put the Lions in the unenivable position of either having the White Out game feature a lesser opponent or doing it outside of an evening television window. It’s a battle that has gnawed at the program in recent years, with the last four White Outs featuring No. 22 Auburn, Minnesota, No. 24 Iowa, and Washington (rankings as of the date the game was played) despite more premium foes being on the schedule, albeit in afternoon television windows.

“We don’t land on any of this,” Lions athletic director Pat Kraft said last July. “I think we’d all know what we would choose if we were choosing a White Out game. This year became a little bit more difficult because of the three [television] networks and the [game] draft process…They picked the first slate of games that came out. And then it was going to a 12-day [in-season selection] window. That became a problem for us because of how big the White Out game is. It is the best, I believe, sporting event of the year. It’s remarkable. Our fans show out.

“[Big Ten Commissioner] Tony [Petitti] and [Big Ten Chief Operating Officer] Kerry [Kenny] and the Big Ten kind of helped us. We worked with FOX to not take the Washington game at Noon. We don’t know yet if it will be a 3:30 p.m. or 7 kick. That will go to the traditional window. But, we had to get something out. This is a late White Out [announcement]. We’d typically like to have it sooner. To Tony’s credit, he understands the importance of that game. So, we’re already starting to work on a process to make it a little bit more smooth.”