Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Penn State Football

Are Weak Non-Conference Opponents a Disservice to Penn State Season Ticket Holders? NSN’s Joe Smeltzer Discusses With Cory Giger

Penn State coach James Franklin isn’t shy about saying that he doesn’t want his team playing tough non-conference opponents.

PSU’s 2025 non-conference schedule— home games against Nevada, Florida International and Villanova— certainly back that up.

But considering Penn State fans pay a pretty solid chunk of cash for season tickets, is it fair to them to have three of the team’s seven home games against programs that are not in Penn State’s league?

I discussed that on the air with Cory Giger of Sports Central on 96.1 Hank FM in Altoona. We also talked about Penn State’s performance in its 45-37 Big Ten Championship loss to Oregon Saturday, Dec. 7, and how that loss might have actually helped Penn State’s national championship chances.

Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.

The 12-team College Football Playoff helps teams like Penn State— who never made the four-team field despite winning double-digit games six times between 2016-23–, but is it a flawed format in general?

Listen to Joe and Cory discuss all of this and more below.

Get NSN in your Inbox

Enter your email address to get notifications of new posts by email.

More from Nittany Sports Now

Penn State Wrestling

0s FloWrestling’s preseason pound-for-pound rankings are out, and yeah, Penn State wrestling dominated. Here’s a breakdown. THE BEST Right now, it’s impossible to dispute...

Penn State Football

0s Apologies in advance for bringing this one up. Among the worst losses Penn State football has experienced this decade– or really, any decade–...

Penn State Football

1 Penn State fans wondered where Quinton Martin was Saturday afternoon. Well, they figured he was in Philadelphia with the rest of the team....

Penn State Football

0s University Park, Pa. — Media availability usually ends the same way for a college football player. The final question is answered, the recorder...