The countdown to Penn State football starting the 2022 season is officially at 100 days
The countdown until Penn State football returns to the field has officially hit the 100-day mark.
Head coach James Franklin will lead his team out of the visiting locker room at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Layfayette, Ind., on Sept. 1 to take on the Purdue Boilermakers. A kickoff time has not yet been set, but it’s expected to be a primetime showdown. FOX will televise the Big Ten crossover contest.
This matchup was originally scheduled for Sat., Sept. 3. However, it was moved to Thursday as the Big Ten Conference has been using a spot earlier in the week to kick off its schedule over the last few seasons. This game made perfect sense, as it’s one of the better ones on the schedule for opening weekend.
Has Penn State ever played on a Thursday before?
Yes, the Lions have. Penn State toppled Pittsburgh 32-20 on Thanksgiving Day to close out the 1991 regular season. Penn State would then go on to crush Tennessee in the Fiesta Bowl.
This is the first Big Ten Thursday game for PSU, however.
Per Onward State, the Lions are 10-17-2 all-time on Thursday. But, a majority of those games were played well over a century ago.
On the road again
If you feel like Penn State always opens its Big Ten slate on the road, then well, you’d be right.
This year’s trip to take on the Boilermakers will mark the seventh straight year of starting the Big Ten slate away from Beaver Stadium. Barring scheduling changes, it will continue to be this way over the next three years, as well.
It’s unclear why Penn State has been picked as the school that has to hit the road at the start of so many conference schedules. But, you can safely bet those within the walls of the Lasch Building would like some answers as to why it’s the case and when it will stop being so.
What does PSU have to accomplish over the next 100 days?
The answer is lots.
Penn State will go running full speed ahead into June. Recruiting camps will take place just about every weekend and official visits. The current members of the roster, meanwhile, will be busy with academics. They’ll also be working out with the strength staff and also in player-organized groups. Those will continue in July while the coaches get a bit of a break during the NCAA recruiting dead period. Later in the month, Big Ten Media Days will unofficially kick off the season, and fall camp will be here before we know it in August.
By then, we’ll be looking back and wondering where the last 100 days went prior to Penn State-Purdue kicking off the Lions’ 2022 season.
