Penn State football set for Black Friday primetime matchup
Penn State football has officially announced two new details regarding its Black Friday showdown with Michigan State. Already confirmed earlier this week for the date change from Saturday, Nov. 25 to the 24th, the Nittany Lions and Spartans will face each other off campus.
Announced on Twitter, Penn State and Michigan State will play at Detroit’s Ford Field at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 24. The game will be broadcast nationally by NBC.
The change to the schedule moves the Nittany Lions away from Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Mich. The venue has been the site of three losses in Penn State’s most recent three trips, including the notable fourth quarter letdown in 2017, giving the Spartans a 27-24 win.
Penn State football preps for 2023 season
According to reporting from ESPN’s national college football analyst Pete Thamel, Penn State has been among the programs resistant to schedule changes that have resulted from unfinished components of the monster TV deal recently agreed upon by the Big Ten.
“Multiple sources told ESPN there’s been pushback from a number of schools, including Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State, to play those late-November night games under the new contract. That leaves Petitti to figure out how to uphold a deal for hundreds of millions of dollars for primetime games without cooperation from some of the league’s marquee teams for part of the regular season’s most important month.”
And, later in the story, pertaining to the program’s approach to the proposed changes:
“While this is being worked through, Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan State recently agreed to concessions to make short-term sacrifices to help the league make up for some lost revenue from the NBC deal.
“Penn State will play on the road in a short week on Black Friday against Michigan State, a game that was scheduled before Penn State agreed to it. Ohio State will host Michigan State on Nov. 11, the latest-ever home night game in Ohio State history, which is viewed as another concession to help the league through this moment.”
The Nittany Lions are progressing through the summer months ahead of July’s start to preseason camp. Then, they’ll return team coming off an 11-2 season capped by a Rose Bowl win over Utah.
The post Penn State football set for Black Friday primetime matchup appeared first on On3.
