Penn State's Quirky Big Ten Schedule Streak Continues 2023

The Lions will open conference play on the road for the eighth consecutive year.

The Big Ten evidently didn't listen to Penn State's objection about conference football scheduling, as the Nittany Lions will open the 2023 Big Ten season on the road for the eighth consecutive year.

The Big Ten released its 2023 conference football schedules on Wednesday, assigning Penn State a road trip to start the Big Ten season. The Lions will visit Illinois on Sept. 16, a game that originally was scheduled in 2018.

That did not sit well with Penn State Athletic Director Patrick Kraft, who called the schedule "incredibly frustrating and disappointing.

"It is incredibly frustrating and disappointing Penn State will be starting our Big Ten football slate next year on the road for the eighth straight season and for the 13th time in the last 14 years," Kraft said in a statement. "When I arrived on campus, I shared with the conference staff my concerns and repeatedly referenced their failure to address this issue in the past. I have been in communication with Commissioner [Kevin] Warren and I am confident this issue will be addressed moving forward."

Kraft objected to that scheduling quirk at the Big Ten Media Days in July, expressing a sentiment with which head coach James Franklin certainly agreed.

"It stinks," Kraft said of the scheduling model.

Kraft, who had been on the job for less than two months when he attended Media Days, said he would be "addressing that right away."

"That shouldn't happen at Penn State," Kraft said in Indianapolis. "We should be at home for our opener. I think it's crazy. That stinks. I did deal with that. I called our friends in the conference, who I love dearly, but that's not right."

The Lions have played Big Ten road openers every year but one since 2010. They hosted Rutgers in the conference opener in 2015. Penn State is 8-4 in Big Ten road openers since 2010, including a win at Purdue in September.

Penn State's road-game streak had been scheduled to continue through 2024. The Big Ten in 2018 released conference schedules for the 2022-25 seasons. Penn State's included conference road openers at Illinois in 2023 and at Rutgers in 2024 before a home game vs. Rutgers in 2025. The Big Ten rescinded those schedules after the 2020 conference-only season forced a reset.

The Big Ten did not release schedules for 2024, when USC and UCLA join the conference.

A note on the White Out: The initial best bet appears to the Sept. 23 home game against Iowa.

Penn State's 2023 Football Schedule

(Home games in caps)

Sept. 2: WEST VIRGINIA

Sept. 9: DELAWARE

Sept. 16: at Illinois

Sept. 23: IOWA

Sept. 30: at Northwestern

Oct. 7: Bye

Oct. 14: MASSACHUSETTS

Oct. 21: at Ohio State

Oct. 28: INDIANA

Nov. 4: at Maryland

Nov. 11: MICHIGAN

Nov. 18: RUTGERS

Nov. 25: at Michigan State

No. 13 Penn State hosts No. 2 Ohio State at noon Saturday at Beaver Stadium. FOX will televise.

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