Penn State Game Time

Submitted by The Uke on

Does anyone know the starting time for the Penn State game? All the UM and Penn State sites I can find say it is TBD. Someone told me it is a 8:00 PM start. I would like to know for sure for hotel reservations, etc. Thanks in advance

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mGrowOld

September 16th, 2015 at 4:37 PM ^

Neither of the offical sites for both programs have a time listed for the game yet somehow you think that random, anonymous internet bloggers will know this?

In that case the game will kick off at 1:00pm.  They are honoring Bo so they decided to have throwback jersey's and throwback game time.

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Carcajou

September 17th, 2015 at 8:28 AM ^

I thought the B1G doesn't do 8PM games in November...or have they changed that?

[Otherwise, I can imagine TV wanting The Game played at night, or Minnesota wanting to play it's last home game in November at night which would be a lot of fun...for somebody]

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Wolverine Devotee

September 16th, 2015 at 4:37 PM ^

Kickoffs times that are TBA on the site aren't announced until about a week or two before that select game.

Anyone who says they know what time it is is full of it. Unfortunately the network suits are the ones who decide these things now.

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michgoblue

September 16th, 2015 at 4:42 PM ^

I am not going to start a thread for this, as there is no official info out there, but what is the best guess on a start time for the MSU game? I need to make a commitment for that date, and I can choose earlier or later in the day. I am going to have to gamble, but I would like to make the best bet possible. Any reason to believe a 3;30 or noon is more likely?

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lilpenny1316

September 16th, 2015 at 4:52 PM ^

It's probably going to be determined by our record since Sparty is not likely to lose before that game.  It would seem likely that we'll play at 3:30 since that seems to be the preferred slot for ABC's #2 game of the day.  How much time do you have to may your commitment?  I'd choose earlier in the day option.

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Blueblood2991

September 16th, 2015 at 5:00 PM ^

USC/ND and OSU/PSU are already set in stone for night games, and other then that there is a couple of decent SEC matchups that would go on CBS/SECNetwork. Rest of the schedule that day is pretty bland.

So I'd bet that ABC would make UM/MSU the 330 game.

Then again, never underestimate the influence of Coach Harbaugh.

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NittanyFan

September 16th, 2015 at 4:58 PM ^

1)  Per another message board I frequent, it has been verified that ABC plans to show college football games at each of 12:00, 3:30 and 8:00 that day.

2)  There are many non-B1G games in non-cold weather locales that may be very attractive for an 8:00 spot that day.  USC at Oregon.  TCU at Oklahoma.  Baylor at Oklahoma State.  Georgia Tech at Miami (Florida).  All dependent on those teams remaining in the MNC hunt, but I would guess ONE of those games will matter come mid-November.

3)  Thus, figure one of those games gets the 8:00 slot.

4)  ABC will almost definitely air Michigan State @ Ohio State.  Not at 8:00, but most likely at 3:30.

5)  ABC would find Michigan @ Penn State to be an attractive game (even in bad times, both teams bring in ratings).  With the 3:30 and 8:00 slots taken, this game slots it at Noon.

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UMgradMSUdad

September 17th, 2015 at 12:15 AM ^

Going by the average temperature for that time of year in Oklahoma, a 7:00 kickoff (8 est) would be in the 50s and dip to the 40s by the end of the game, so it's definitely doable.  Of course the records for Nov 21st are 80 and 17, so there's quite a bit of variability, along with possible wind and precipitation.  But by a week out, they should have an idea of what the weather will be like.

The real interesting day weatherwise in Oklahoma is Nov. 11.  The record high and low for that day, 17 degrees  and 83, were set in the same 24 hour period in 1911.

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MI Expat NY

September 16th, 2015 at 5:30 PM ^

Even assuming your paragraph 1 is correct, I think there's still a good chance of it being a 3:30 game.  At least Oregon at USC and probably one or both of the Big 12 games you list in pagragraph 2 are likely to be on Fox networks.  I think that makes the MSU @OSU the game to be the 8:00 ABC game that night, barring some collapse by MSU. 

There are probably three 3:30 time slots on ESPN/ABC networks for four possible games: Michigan-PSU, the worse of TCU/Oklahoma or Baylor/Oklahoma St., Georgia Tech./Miami and Northwestern/Wisconsin.  I would assume ABC/ESPN2 will do a mirror schedule with the best two of those games.  Leaving the remaing two of those four games for either 3:30 on ESPN or Noon on ABC.  I have no idea which of those time slots would get priority, but we can't really know what people will think of the possible matchups at this point either.  Assuming that the rest of college football plays out reasonably close to what is expected (ha!), I think there's a 75% chance of Michigan @ PSU being the 3:30 game.  

Alternatively, the SEC is doing their annual FCS feast that week.  CBS will surely take LSU @ Ole Miss.  ESPN could decide to take Michigan@PSU in the night spot on an ESPN network rather than Tennessee/Missouri or Miss. St./Arkansas.  Has PSU ruled out Michigan for a night game?

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NittanyFan

September 16th, 2015 at 6:01 PM ^

I actually lurk on a "TV Sports Broadcasting message board" (yes, such a thing exists!!!) and those are apparently the ABC slots on November 21st.  FOX apparently has 3:30 and 7:30 PM slots on November 21st.  

You are right regarding FOX and the Pac-12/Big XII.  The rules on "how many Big XII and Pac-12 games does each of ABC/ESPN get and in which order do they get to choose" is rather complicated.  One of the rules though is that FOX gets at least 4 prime-time Pac-12 games.  Thus far, they are at one (a TBD game on September 26).  

Pure speculation, but I could see FOX getting USC/Oregon on 11-21 at 7:30, "the lesser" (still likely a good game) of the two Big XII games at 3:30, with the "better" Big XII game on ABC at 8.

To the best of my knowledge, PSU has not "ruled out Michigan for a night game."  But I think that given the time of year (it will be cold and quite possibly snowing, and PSU is in the middle of nowhere), a night game would not be preferred by the PSU-powers-that-be.  

SImilar question: I wonder if Ohio State would want a night game themselves.

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NittanyFan

September 16th, 2015 at 9:41 PM ^

MSU played at Maryland last November 15 at night.  Minnesota @ Iowa is scheduled for the evening of November 14, 2015 ..... which sounds like definite hot chocolate and long underwear conditions.  

I remember reading Ohio State wasn't overly thrilled with playing Illinois at night last November 1st.  It was a cold evening in Columbus on Halloween weekend and attendance definitely suffered.  Then again, Illinois was the foe --- that had some impact too.

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triguy616

September 16th, 2015 at 10:29 PM ^

I thought there was a rule about no night games in November. According to this article from last year, they are not prohibited but the league/TV have to sign off on it way beforehand. That article talked about the first two saturdays in November, though, not all the way to the third.

Additionally, I checked 15 years of Penn State schedule and they have not had a single November night game.

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