Penn State Announces 2026 Game Themes

The themes are in, and the Penn State White Out game is exactly what we all expected it to be.

The annual spectacle is scheduled for Oct. 10 against USC, which is scheduled for 7:30 on NBC.

This will be the first time USC has played in Beaver Stadium since joining the Big Ten ahead of the 2024 season.

Ever since Penn State’s schedule came out, it was assumed that USC would be the White Out game. Not only is it (on paper) Penn State’s most marquee home matchup, it’s the only preseason top 25 opponent coming to Beaver Stadium this season.

Here is the full set of themes for Penn State’s home scheduled.

• Sept. 5– Stripe Out (Marshall)
• Sept. 19– THON Game (Buffalo)
• Sept. 26– Homecoming/Helmet Stripe (Wisconsin)
• Oct. 10– White Out (USC)
• Oct. 31– All U Day (Purdue)

This will future representatives from each Penn State branch campus during a halftime ceremony 

• Nov. 14– Military Appreciation Day (Minnesota)
• Nov. 21– Rutgers (Senior Day)

The times and networks have also been set for multiple games.

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The home opener against Marshall is scheduled for 3:30 on FS1.

Buffalo will be at noon on the Big Ten Network.

The times and channels for the Wisconsin, Purdue, Minnesota and Rutgers games are to be determined.

Penn State comes into the season ranked No. 18 in the AP Poll, meaning that they are expected to be favored in every home game aside from potentially USC, which is No. 14.

But as we saw last season, when Penn State dropped its first two Big Ten home games, things don’t always go according to plan, so we will see what happens.