Penn State won’t be playing football this weekend but there are plenty of games that fans could watch that are relevant to their favorite team.
Of Penn State’s nine Big Ten opponents, six of them are in action this weekend.
Although none of them can necessarily help No. 2 PSU by winning or losing, it’s still worth looking into what the competition is doing.
So, let’s look into it.
NO. 6 OREGON VS. OREGON STATE (3:00, BIG TEN NETWORK)
Dan Lanning leads Oregon to the Big Ten title in their first year in the conference.
PSU’s next opponent has an easy one this week. If Oregon beats Oregon State, that would guarantee that the Ducks are unbeaten coming into Happy Valley next weekend and would virtually guarantee that College GameDay is in town for that matchup.
If Oregon loses to is 0-3 rival, well, GameDay would have a decision to make.
IOWA AT RUTGERS (8:00 FRIDAY, FOX)
Penn State’s Chop Robinson sacks Iowa’s Cade McNamara and forces a fumble, recovered by the Nittany Lions.
PSU plays Iowa Oct. 18 and Rutgers the Saturday after Thanksgiving and is likely to be favored in both games. So it will be hard to tell much from this one. If Iowa wins, well, it only beat Rutgers. If Iowa loses, well, it says nothing about Kinnick Stadium, considering Iowa will be playing on the road and Penn State will be playing in Iowa City.
As for Rutgers, well, Penn State owns Rutgers.
NO. 19 INDIANA VS. NO. 9 ILLINOIS (7:30, PEACOCK)
COLUMBUS, OH – NOVEMBER 23: Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti talks to his players during the game against the Indiana Hoosiers and the Ohio State Buckeyes on November 23, 2024, at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, OH. (Photo by Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire)
This is the one Penn State fans should be interested in. At the end of the day, Penn State is ranked highly enough to control its destiny. But in the event that the team loses to both Oregon and Ohio State— which is possible, considering both of those teams are very good— it will need a big-time ranked win to boost its College Football Playoff case.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.If Indiana beats Illinois, it will probably be 8-1 by the time it meets Penn State in Happy Valley Nov. 8 (IU plays at Oregon Oct. 11).
By that time, Penn State will have played Oregon and Ohio State, and how important the IU game is depends on what Penn State does against those two teams.
In any case, it can’t hurt to have too many ranked wins, so Penn State fans should be rooting for Curt Cignetti and Indiana regardless.
MICHIGAN STATE AT No. 25 USC (11:00 P.M., FOX)
CHAMPAIGN, IL – NOVEMBER 05: Michigan State quarterback Peyton Thorne (10) drops back to pass during a college football game between the Michigan State Spartans and the Illinois Fighting Illini, November 05, 2022, at Memorial Stadium, Champaign, IL. Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire.
Penn State doesn’t play USC this year but does take on Michigan State in East Lansing Nov. 15.
If Michigan State wins, it will make Penn State fans think a little more about that matchup.
Although Sparty is a 18.5-point underdog, Lincoln Riley is known to lose games he shouldn’t. So we will see what happens.
NEBRASKA VS. NO. 21 MICHIGAN (CBS)
Penn State doesn’t play Michigan but does play Nebraska. Former Penn State LB Matt Rhule’s team is 3-0 and facing its first test. If Nebraska can get it done against Bryce Underwood and Co., the Huskers will be ranked in the Top 25.
Nebraska has six more games before it plays Penn State Nov. 22, and only one of them (USC at home) is against a ranked team.
So, if Nebraska beats Michigan, we could be seeing a battle of the unbeatens in Happy Valley.
No. 2 PSU takes on No. 6 Oregon in Happy Valley Sept. 27. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 on NBC.
