The upsides and pitfalls of Penn State's New 2020 Football Schedule

How different is Penn State's 2020 Big Ten football schedule from the original? We compare old and new.

Penn State's new 2020 football schedule shifted Ohio State later on the calendar, moved up a frisky road game and left just one home date in the opening month.

It's a very different Big Ten card with plenty of potential. Here's what to look for from Penn State's 2020 schedule. Here's hoping it gets played as well.

First, a look at the conference schedule, before and after.

Mark Wogenrich

More lead time to Ohio State

In the original schedule, Penn State would have played Ohio State in Week 8 (counting non-conference games and byes) on a sold-out October night at Beaver Stadium. That should have been enough time for the offense to break in its new offense, which did not have the benefit of spring drills.

Now, Penn State will play eight games (and have a bye week) before hosting the Buckeyes, so coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca should be in peak form. Or disarray, whichever path the Lions follow.

Further, for the first time, Ohio State will play Penn State two weeks after playing Michigan. That's significant. The Buckeyes aren't used to channeling their TTUN energy in October. Perhaps Penn State catches them undercharged two weeks later?

A new first month

Penn State's Big Ten opener against Northwestern remained the same, a benefit for the coaching and analyst staffs that began scouting the first four opponents this offseason. At least Penn State can retain the work it did on Northwestern.

After that, most everything is different. Only Michigan remains among the first four Big Ten opponents. The Indiana scouting will begin soon.

Speaking of Indiana...

Penn State's first month is tougher from a logistical perspective. The Lions play back-to-back road games against Indiana and Michigan after the home opener. That will test the travel staff in putting together complicated plans on consecutive weeks. Penn State will play just one home game at Beaver Stadium in September.

Moving up the Indiana game to Week 2 might be thorny. The Hoosiers went 8-5 last year and gave Penn State fits in a 34-27 loss at Beaver Stadium.

Further, Penn State gets into dogfights in Bloomington. Three of the Lions' last five games there were decided by six points or less.

A friendly midseason

Penn State's three-week stretch from Oct. 3-17 goes Rutgers, bye, Maryland. Penn State has defeated Rutgers and Maryland the past three seasons by a combined score of 245-25.

That appears to be a benefit.

The new finale

If they get there, the Lions now close the regular season at Illinois. It's a friendly crossover game instead of having to face Wisconsin or Minnesota.

Penn State is 9-4 all-time in Champaign, including a 63-24 win there in 2018.

What do you think of the new schedule? Let us know in the comments.

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