Penn State Schedules First Night Game of 2024 Season

The Nittany Lions will host Illinois in prime-time in their Big Ten opener.

The Penn State Nittany Lion mascot interacts with the fans during the fourth quarter in a game at Beaver Stadium. / Matthew OHaren-Imagn Images

Penn State will host at least one night game at Beaver Stadium this season. The Nittany Lions will entertain Illinois in their Sept. 28 Big Ten opener for a prime-time kickoff at 7 or 7:30 p.m. ET, the conference announced Monday. The Big Ten did not announce the network designation, but a showcase on NBC's Big Ten Saturday Night is possible.

NBC has not announced a game for its prime-time window Sept. 28. The network will broadcast the Notre Dame-Stanford at 3:30 p.m. ET. In addition, the Penn State-Illinois game will have healthy competition in prime-time. ABC will broadcast the Georgia-Alabama game from Tuscaloosa beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET.

The Penn State-Illinois game is the first announced start time of the Nittany Lions' Big Ten schedule. The Big Ten previously announced that Penn State's Oct. 26 visit to Wisconsin could kick off at noon, 3:30 or 7:30 ET. Penn State also has scheduled its annual White Out game for Nov. 9 against Washington. That game likely will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET or later. The remainder of Penn State's 2024 schedule awaits kick times, as the Nittany Lions will be on six- or 12-day announcements.

Penn State (2-0) hosts Kent State on Saturday following a bye week. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network. Penn State coach James Franklin said that the Nittany Lions held a developmental practice this past Sunday, when they normally would conduct a practice to correct mistakes from the previous game.

"Looking forward to getting back into Beaver Stadium after a week off," Franklin said at his weekly press conference. "This time of year is kind of unusual to not be playing. We were able to get out and get a ton of recruiting [visits], we were able to take care of our guys from a rest and recovery standpoint and were were able to get our depth guys some work, which was good."

Week 5⃣ kick and network designations 👀

TBDs will be confirmed after Week 4 games.#B1GFootball pic.twitter.com/zFjjP5KW9k

— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) September 16, 2024

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Penn State on SI 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 X (or Twitter) @MarkWogenrich.