The wait is almost over, folks.

Penn State football will have its full 2026 schedule revealed on Tuesday night, exactly one month after the team concluded its topsy-turvy season in the Pinstripe Bowl against Clemson. To get everyone prepared for the news, the football team’s social media even put out a video of the players drawing the logos of its 12 opponents:

We asked the players to draw our 2026 opponents (results may vary)

Full schedule release coming tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/Px6XkCONjd

— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) January 27, 2026

The dates of all three non-conference bouts are all but confirmed already. Penn State will host Marshall in its season opener on September 5, head on the road for the renewal of an in-state rivalry when they visit Temple in Philadelphia on September 12, and host Buffalo on September 19.

After that, it’s all up in the air. To pass the time before the reveal, let’s get our best crack at the schedule and see if we get anything right.

Saturday, September 26: vs. Wisconsin

Penn State has not hosted the Badgers in Happy Valley since 2018, but the Nittany Lions will look to extend their winning streak in the series to seven against a Wisconsin program that is looking to get back on track after several disappointing seasons. With a high-profile matchup at Lambeau Field against Notre Dame starting their season in early September, the Badgers will be battle-tested.

Saturday, October 3: At Northwestern

Northwestern’s stunning victory in Beaver Stadium last October contributed to the end of the James Franklin era. One year later, the beginning of the Matt Campbell era will roll through Evanston, where Penn State could be among the first to play at the newly renovated Ryan Field, which is expected to be ready for September 2026. Early October feels right for this kind of matchup, similar to the three previous matchups.

Saturday, October 10: vs. USC

In 2024, Penn State visited the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to begin a new Big Ten rivalry with USC and would survive with a thrilling overtime victory. Two years later, the Trojans will head to State College for the first time in 32 years in what will likely be the biggest home game of the season for Penn State. The schedule makers always have to keep the White Out in mind, and this would be a perfect place for it (and would also dissuade Big Noon Kickoff from stealing it!)

Saturday, October 17: At Washington

It’s been 106 years since the Nittany Lions went on the road to Seattle to face off against the Huskies, and a lot has changed since then. These two teams are now improbable conference rivals, and air travel has gone from a luxury to a necessity for college athletics. Washington will look to get revenge for Penn State’s dominant victory over them in 2024 in the White Out, and this feels like a late one, folks. 11 p.m. start, anyone?

Saturday, October 24: BYE WEEK

College teams usually are able to get two bye weeks over the course of a season, but the cramped 2026 schedule will restrict them to one bye week. We’ll figure that the Big Ten schedule makers will give the Nittany Lions their bye week after they make their lone trip out west. It’ll also be a nice break in what, at least we project, will be their toughest stretch of the season.

Friday, October 30: At Maryland

Penn State does not usually play on Fridays. In fact, you’ll likely never see one at Beaver Stadium. That said, the Big Ten is attempting to get a Friday night game every week to spread out its schedule, and no game on the calendar screams Friday night more than the trip to Maryland, which seems to treat every home game against Penn State like the Super Bowl. This might be preferable to Nittany Nation anyway, instead of a Halloween game.

Saturday, November 7: vs. Purdue

It’s been a rough few years for Purdue, deep in a rebuild and taking up the Big Ten’s cellar. They’ll get a crack at the new Nittany Lions in State College to start November for the first time in seven years and just the second time since 2013. Penn State has won 11 straight in this matchup, dating back to 2005.

Saturday, November 14: At Michigan

This is the big one, folks.

The newly expanded Big Ten has caused Penn State to play consecutive seasons without seeing the 2023 national champions on the other side, missing the entire Sherrone Moore era (well, except when he filled in for the suspended Harbaugh). They’ll visit The Big House for the first time in four years in 2026, and expect this one to be on Big Noon Kickoff.

Saturday, November 21: vs. Minnesota

There’s no great spot to put a home game against Minnesota on the calendar, as the Golden Gophers are visiting Happy Valley for the first time since the 2022 White Out. PJ Fleck and company will look to turn back the clock and get their first win in State College since 2003.

Saturday, November 28: vs. Rutgers

Does anybody really want this? Rivalry week is a spectacle across college football, but the whole “unrivaled” slogan kinda hurts you in this spot. If you asked Penn State fans what conference rivals they’d want in this game, most will answer an opponent who’s already busy. Non-conference rivals would also require a very permanent revival. As such, it’ll almost undoubtedly be Rutgers or Maryland in this spot, and we’ll go with the Scarlet Knights, who put up a real fight in Piscataway in 2025 after a decade of being a pushover in this “rivalry.”