Schedule outlook
There are some challenges in the non-conference schedule, but it starts out relatively favorably for a new coach just trying to get his feet wet. Additionally, some of the power players on Penn State’s schedule are not necessarily the most fearsome.
Penn State kicks off its season against Youngstown State on November 10. They follow that with games at UMass and against St. Francis Brooklyn and Cornell at home; the Minutemen game could be tricky, although less so after Tre Mitchell transferred to Texas.
After that, the Nittany Lions enter into the meat of their non-conference schedule, facing LSU in the Emerald Coast Classic, which will be followed by either Oregon State or Wake Forest. A game against Miami in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge is next, a thankfully weak draw for Penn State in the annual competition.
The other big non-conference game is a road date with VCU on December 18. The Rams may not have the same ceiling as past years, but remain part of the upper echelon of Atlantic 10 teams and will likely be favored heading into the tilt.
Penn State’s conference schedule has some decent balance to it, aided by games against Ohio State and Michigan State prior to the calendar flip. The team only gets the conference’s two best, Purdue and Michigan, once each. The toughest stretch may come starting January 8, with home games against the Boilermakers and Rutgers, followed by a road trip to Ohio State.
That balanced schedule may also make it difficult to string together three straight conference wins. Late February is a time to look forward to, with home games back-to-back against Northwestern and Nebraska. On either side is a road game at Maryland and a road game at Illinois, though.