Fox Friday night lineup gives Penn State opponent extra rest before facing Nittany Lions
Big Ten media partner Fox will be featuring the Big Ten on a fairly regular basis this fall with a new Friday night college football lineup. Penn State may not be feature din any of the Friday night primetime games on the lineup, but one opponent Penn State will face this season could actually take advantage by the adjusted schedule.
Illinois may benefit from the Fox Friday night schedule by getting an extra day of rest before facing Penn State in Week 5. Penn State will host Illinois on Saturday, Sept. 28. Illinois will be coming off a road game at Nebraska, which will be the first Big Ten matchup on Fox’s Friday night schedule this fall. The Illini visit Nebraska on Friday, Sept. 20. Of course, making a road trip to Nebraska and then to Penn State on back-to-back weeks is not an easy draw for Illinois. Getting an extra day between those two games could be welcomed for the Illinois program.
Penn State won last year’s meeting with the Illini, 30-13, but Illinois did walk away from Beaver Stadium with a win the last time they visited State College. Illinois won a dogfight against Penn State in a nine-overtime game, 20-18, in 2021. It was the first 9 OT game in college football history, thanks in large part to the NCAA’s modified overtime rules that went into effect that season. Penn State has won four of the last five meetings with Illinois, and nine of the last 12 meetings.
No other opponent on Penn State’s schedule in 2024 will be playing on a Friday night the week prior to facing the Nittany Lions.
Here is Penn State’s 2024 football schedule. And here are some early game-by-game predictions for the upcoming season.
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