All Penn State

Penn State's Next Road Test: Michigan's Maize Out

After seeing black at Purdue and orange at Auburn, the Lions will face more monochrome at Michigan.

Mark Wogenrich

In this story:

The Nittany Lions are a popular choice among *Color* Out opponents this season. And their next game will be freighted with major stakes.

After venturing to Purdue's Black Out in Week 1 and Auburn's Orange Out (or All Orange) in Week 3, Penn State will face its third consecutive road monochromatic stadium in October. When they visit Michigan on Oct. 15, the Lions will be guests of the Wolverines' Maize Out.

Kickoff for the potential top-10 matchup between Penn State and Michigan is scheduled for noon ET at Michigan Stadium for Fox's Big Noon broadcast.

Penn State (5-0) enters the bye week ranked No. 10 in the latest AP Top 25. Fourth-ranked Michigan (5-0) visits Indiana on Saturday for a noon kickoff.

Penn State cleared its most recent hurdles over Central Michigan and Northwestern to reach 5-0 for the second consecutive season. If Michigan beats Indiana, the Lions and Wolverines would meet as unbeatens (after at least five games) for the first time since 1997.

That year, No. 4 Michigan defeated No. 2 Penn State 34-8 at Beaver Stadium en route to the national championship.

So far, Penn State has handled the Outs well. After blowing an 11-point lead in the opener, the Lions rallied for a last-minute touchdown to defeat Purdue 35-31 in a charged Thursday-night Black Out at Ross-Ade Stadium.

Two weeks later, the Lions routed Auburn 41-12 behind a second-half storm of 27 points, including 17 unanswered to start the third quarter. After that game, Big Ten Network's Gerry DiNardo liked what he saw.

"Overall there haven't been too many Big Ten teams in the history of the Big Ten to come on the road and get a win in the SEC, so we're very, very proud of that," Penn State coach James Franklin said after the win at Auburn. "I also think that we've had a very a challenging schedule to start the season."

And, of course, Penn State will host its 18th White Out the following week against Minnesota, which fell to Purdue last weekend.

Shame that Rutgers already held its Scarlet Out recently vs. Iowa. Penn State visits the Knights in November; maybe they'll call for another.

Read More

What we know about Penn State at 5-0

Sean Clifford says Penn State's in a good spot after 5-0 start

The Penn State-Northwestern report card

What we learned from Penn State's 17-7 win over Northwestern

Running back Devyn Ford no longer with the team

Sean Clifford has 'taken another step' this season, James Franklin says

Is Penn State rounding into a Big Ten contender?

Penn State inches closer to the top 10

Penn State is capitalizing on Chad Powers fever

James Franklin pitches new athlete dorms at Penn State

AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich. And consider subscribing (button's on the home page) for more great content across the SI.com network.

Published
Mark Wogenrich
MARK WOGENRICH

Mark Wogenrich is Editor and Publisher of AllPennState, the site for Penn State news on SI's FanNation Network. He has covered Penn State sports for more than two decades across three coaching staffs and three Rose Bowls.

Home/Football