After an unusually long wait, Penn State football’s 2026 Big Ten schedule was released by the conference on Tuesday evening. The Nittany Lions will play seven games inside a revamped Beaver Stadium and five games away from home.

Matt Campbell opens his Big Ten account with a Saturday, September 26, home matchup against the Wisconsin Badgers.

Penn State will open October against Northwestern. The Wildcats were a big turning point in Penn State’s disastrous 2025 campaign. Drew Allar went down with a season-ending ankle injury and James Franklin was fired the following day.

The Nittany Lions will face the USC Trojans on October 10 in what is likely to be Penn State’s White Out game. Campbell and Co. will then travel to the Big House in week seven to battle the Michigan Wolverines to cap off one of Penn State’s more enticing two-game stretches of 2026 before the bye week.

Penn State will spend Halloween at home against the Purdue Boilermakers to enter the back half of the season. Spooky.

The Nittany Lions will play the Washington Huskies in Seattle, Washington, for only the second time ever and first time since 1921 before hosting Minnesota on November 14. It’ll be the Golden Gophers’ first visit to Happy Valley since 2022.

Penn State closes out Beaver Stadium play against Rutgers on November 21 before visiting Maryland on November 28 to end the regular season.

Kickoff times and networks will be announced over summer and during the season. Penn State’s three non-conference games are set for Marshall on September 5, a visit to Temple on September 12, and Buffalo from Beaver Stadium on September 19.