Penn State football’s 2026 schedule released. See the dates, opponents
Penn State has its Big Ten schedule and the Nittany Lions will begin conference play in Beaver Stadium.
They will open their Big Ten slate against the Wisconsin Badgers on Sept. 26 in the first conference game of the Matt Campbell era. The team will then head on the road to take on Northwestern in the Wildcats first game in the new Ryan Field.
The Nittany Lions’ most likely choice for the White Out will come on Oct. 10 when they take on USC at home.
Their most difficult road games this season are separated by a few weeks in 2026, with a matchup against Michigan in Ann Arbor on Oct. 17 coming before a road game against Washington on Nov. 7.
The conference schedule sets up nicely for Campbell in his first season as Penn State’s head coach, with no back-to-back road games and a bye week after the matchup against the Wolverines. The Nittany Lions will only have seven home games this season due to a non-conference road matchup with Temple on Sept. 12.
Here is the program’s full 2026 schedule.
2026 Penn State football schedule
Sept. 5 vs. Marshall
Sept. 12 at Temple
Sept. 19 vs. Buffalo
Sept. 26 vs. Wisconsin
Oct. 2 at Northwestern
Oct. 10 vs. USC
Oct. 17 at Michigan
Oct. 24 Bye
Oct. 31 vs. Purdue
Nov. 7 at Washington
Nov. 14 vs. Minnesota
Nov. 21 vs. Rutgers
Nov. 28 at Maryland
This story was originally published January 27, 2026 at 6:07 PM.
