UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State will play three night games during the 2013 season, two in Beaver Stadium, with the announcement Monday (May 6) of a 6 p.m. kick vs. the University of Central Florida on Sept. 14.
The Nittany Lions are playing at least one regular season night game for the 14th consecutive season. Penn State’s three regular season prime-time games are tied for the most in the season with 2008 and 2010.
The contest against UCF will air on BTN, the network’s first primetime telecast from Beaver Stadium. The Nittany Lions have played on BTN in primetime on the road the past two seasons (at Northwestern, 2011; at Iowa, 2012).
The Nittany Lions also will play in primetime against Michigan (5 p.m. Oct. 12) and at Ohio State (8 p.m. Oct. 26) during the 2013 campaign.
Penn State and UCF will be meeting for the third time, with the previous meetings in 2002 and 2004 in Beaver Stadium. The Knights will be joining the American Athletic Conference this fall.
Penn State head coach Bill O’Brien was a member of UCF Coach George O'Leary's staff at Georgia Tech from 1995-2001. O'Brien was a graduate assistant coach from 1995-97, running backs coach from 1998-2000 and was promoted to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2001, O'Leary's final season with the Yellow Jackets.
Penn State assistant head coach/wide receivers coach Stan Hixon (1995-99) and offensive line coach Mac McWhorter (2000-01) coached with O'Leary and O'Brien in at Georgia Tech. Jim Bernhardt, Penn State special assistant to the head coach and director of player of development, was a member of O'Leary's UCF staff from 2004-07, helping the Knights to their first Conference USA Championship game and bowl berth.
The Nittany Lions will host Michigan on Oct. 12 for Penn State’s 94th Homecoming game. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. in Beaver Stadium and the clash will air on ESPN or ESPN2. The teams will be playing in primetime for the third time in Happy Valley (2006, 2010 and 2013).
Penn State will visit division rival Ohio State on Oct. 26 for an 8 p.m kick on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2. Penn State and Ohio State will be meeting in primetime for the fifth time in the past nine seasons (2005, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2013).
A determination on which network will nationally televise the Michigan and Ohio State games clash may not be made until six days before the contests.
Every Nittany Lion football game has been televised the past nine seasons and 228 of the last 230 Penn State contests overall have been on TV. All Nittany Lion football and basketball games air on the Penn State Sports Network and www.GoPSUsports.com.
O’Brien and seven other head coaches are participating in the 12-stop Penn State Coaches Caravan, with Week 2 starting Tuesday, May 7 in Williamsport and the Lehigh Valley. The tour continues Wednesday (New York City and Scranton) and concludes Thursday in DuBois and Pittsburgh. O’Brien is scheduled to appear at all 12 events. For all the Coaches Caravan event dates and locations and the list of participating coaches, go to alumni.psu.edu/events/coachescaravan or www.GoPSUsports.com.
In O’Brien’s first season as head coach, the Nittany Lions beat eventual Big Ten champion Wisconsin on Senior Day to finish 8-4 overall (6-2 Big Ten). O’Brien’s eight wins were the most by a first-year Penn State coach in the 126 years of the program.
Penn State returns 16 starters and 38 letterwinners for this fall. Season tickets are available for the 2013 campaign. The Nittany Lions will host five bowl teams from 2012, including three teams that finished in the BCS Top 25: Michigan (Oct. 12-Homecoming), Nebraska (Nov. 23) and Kent State (Sept. 21). Purdue, Illinois, UCF and Eastern Michigan also will visit Beaver Stadium this fall.
Penn State opens the season Aug. 31 vs. Syracuse in MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Nittany Lion Club members can order tickets for the Syracuse game at 800-NITTANY or online via their Account Manager.
For information on joining the Nittany Lion Club and purchasing season tickets, as well as club seating in Beaver Stadium, fans can visit www.GoPSUsports.com or call 800-NITTANY from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays.
Penn State Athletics is on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pennstatenittanylions) and Twitter (http://www.gopsusports.com/ot/socialmedia.html).
2013 Penn State Football Schedule
Date Opponent Time
August 31 vs. Syracuse TBA
(MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.)
September 7 EASTERN MICHIGAN TBA
September 14 UCF 6 p.m. (BTN)
September 21 KENT STATE TBA
October 5 at Indiana** TBA
October 12 MICHIGAN* 5 p.m. (ESPN or ESPN2)
(Homecoming)
October 26 at Ohio State** 8 p.m. (ABC, ESPN or ESPN)
November 2 ILLINOIS** TBA
November 9 at Minnesota* TBA
November 16 PURDUE** TBA
November 23 NEBRASKA* TBA
November 30 at Wisconsin** TBA
* Big Ten Conference game
** Big Ten Leaders Division game