Following a few minor adjustments last week, Penn State football’s 2021 slate is all set and open for plenty of debate over the next several months.

Aside from analyzing opponents and predicting what the Nittany Lions’ regular-season record might be, there’s no doubt that plenty of discussions will be based on when all 12 contests will kick off.

No start times have been announced yet, so we took it upon ourselves to predict when each of the Nittany Lions’ games will take place.

September 4 @ Wisconsin: Noon

This is an awesome matchup to start the season with, but it has “FOX B1G Noon Kickoff” written all over it.

The Nittany Lions and Badgers, both of whom are widely considered as Big Ten blue bloods, obviously struggled a whole lot this past season. FOX will certainly want to be at this one to cover the hopeful revival of one program after a down year, and a disappointing start to the season for another.

This will be a highly anticipated game, as both squads will certainly be ranked, but there are other intriguing week one battles that will take the primetime spots, namely Georgia vs. Clemson.

September 11 vs. Ball State: Noon

Week one and week three will bring plenty of intrigue for the Nittany Lions, but this contest with Ball State will be a much-needed snoozer in between. To their credit, the Cardinals went 7-1 in 2020 with a 5-1 record in #MACtion, but this one still won’t attract any sort of nationwide audience.

Hopefully, the weather will be nice for Penn State’s home-opener because folks will need to hustle up to the tailgate lots early for a second consecutive noon kickoff.

September 18 vs. Auburn: Prime Time

Here. We. Go.

This game is going to be flat-out awesome. The Nittany Lions haven’t hosted an SEC opponent at Beaver Stadium since Alabama in 2011 and haven’t played a team from the conference since Kentucky at the 2018 Citrus Bowl.

Neither of those games went well, so James Franklin’s squad is clearly due for a win against his old conference.

Anyway, the Tigers will likely be 2-0 entering this contest while Penn State will bring the intrigue either way. If Penn State does manage to roll through Wisconsin and avoid the upset against Ball State, I don’t see how College GameDay wouldn’t make the trip to Happy Valley for what will be a fantastic game and possibly an early-season White Out.

September 25 vs. Villanova: 3:30 p.m.

It’s hard to see a scenario where this is a very entertaining contest, but let’s give some time for the Philly hoops fans to make their way up to State College.

The Wildcats, who play in the Colonial Athletic Association, didn’t even have a football season last year and will likely struggle against the Nittany Lions. However, this should be a fun in-state battle at Beaver Stadium, so why not gives the folks an afternoon kickoff on BTN?

October 2 vs. Indiana: 3:30 p.m.

The Nittany Lions’ return to Big Ten play should be another afternoon kick. The Hoosiers are clearly developing into a solid football team, and Penn State’s revenge storyline will likely be enough to earn this one a spot on ABC.

Along with the fact that James Franklin’s squad lost in heartbreaking fashion to Indiana in 2020, the Hoosiers will likely have a fairly solid record early in the season. This could be a ranked matchup and deserves to be treated as an exciting Big Ten contest.

October 9 @ Iowa: Prime Time

Penn State’s last four trips to Kinnick Stadium have been night games, all of which were equally terrifying for the Nittany Lions. Prime-time contests in Iowa City have been challenging for Franklin’s group, and it doesn’t seem like it’ll be able to avoid one this year, either.

Assuming the Nittany Lions don’t start the season 0-5 again, this will certainly be one of Iowa’s most highly anticipated home games of 2021. Expect a yellow and black stripe out under the lights at Kinnick and a brutal last game before the bye week for Penn State.

October 23 vs. Illinois: Noon

A depleted Penn State team rolled over the Fighting Illini 56-21 to cap off the 2020 campaign, so don’t expect this game to get much attention.

Illinois likely won’t have a great record, so this should get the noon BTN treatment. There are only two noon Beaver Stadium kickoffs on the schedule so far, folks!

October 30 @ Ohio State: Prime Time

After a bye week and a likely boring game against Illinois, Penn State will have to wake up for what’s almost always its game of the year.

This got the “FOX B1G Noon Kickoff” treatment last time it was in Columbus in 2019, so let’s hope we can avoid that fate this time around. Nothing against Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt, but a contest between two sides expected to battle for the Big Ten East should not be played at noon.

Taking a quick scan of Ohio State’s schedule, there’s absolutely no reason the Buckeyes shouldn’t be undefeated up to this point. They’ll roll over conference opponents, and a week two visit from Oregon will be the team’s biggest test, but that would be a shocking upset, even for the Ducks.

The Nittany Lions may not be undefeated, but they should have a good enough record to make this one of the more exciting week nine contests. Suck it up, College GameDay, and make the trip to Columbus for this one.

November 6 @ Maryland: 3:30 p.m.

It’s pretty weird to say that this will be a revenge matchup for the Nittany Lions, but a brutal performance against the Terps this past November was arguably Penn State’s worst loss of 2020.

Quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa isn’t going anywhere, and Maryland is clearly improving under his leadership. Why not give this one an exciting afternoon kickoff in College Park?

November 13 vs. Michigan: 3:30 p.m.

Assuming these extremely accurate predictions are correct, Penn State will have already played three primetime games up to this point. With that in mind and the fact that the Wolverines have clearly been declining over the past few seasons, this game doesn’t deserve primetime billing.

Even if James Franklin does the incredible and calls for two White Outs, the early-season clash with Auburn will be more exciting than this one. Michigan could pick up some ugly losses before it even arrives in Happy Valley week 11, so I don’t think networks will be inclined to line this up as a night game.

November 20 vs. Rutgers: Noon

Even when Penn State is horrible it beats Rutgers. Sleep through this one and prepare yourself for an electric season finale.

November 27 @ Michigan State: 3:30 p.m.

This is what dreams are made of.

The Battle for the Land-Grant Trophy has always been meant to be played on a cold, dreary afternoon and that isn’t going to change this year. Unfortunately, there won’t be many fans in attendance thanks to the fact that this will be two games after Thanksgiving.

Despite that, a battle for college football’s most beautiful trophy will be an exciting one to watch from the comfort of your home as the sun sets at roughly 4:45 p.m. on what will likely be a freezing day.