UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., May 1, 2007 ?C A pair of highly-anticipated clashes during Penn State??s blockbuster 2007 home football schedule will be played under the lights and the kick time has been set for the Nittany Lions?? Homecoming game.
The Nittany Lions?? contests against Notre Dame (Sept. 8) and Ohio State (Oct. 27) have been set for primetime national TV exposure. The clash with the Fighting Irish will kick at 6:00 p.m. ET in Beaver Stadium and air on ESPN.
The border battle with the Buckeyes will kick at 8:00 p.m. ET and air on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2. A determination on which network will air the game may not be made until 12 days before the game.
Penn State??s 88th Homecoming game, against Wisconsin on Oct. 13, will kick at 3:30 p.m. ET and air on ABC.
Penn State will be playing at least one regular season night game for the eighth consecutive season. The Nittany Lions' last nine night games over the past seven seasons are: Michigan (2006), Florida State (Orange Bowl) and Ohio State (2005), Minnesota and Boston College (2004), Nebraska (2002 and '03), Miami, Fla. (2001) and Indiana (2000).
The Nittany Lions have long been one of college football's premier programs for television networks. Every Nittany Lion game has been televised the past three seasons and 151 of the last 153 Penn State games overall have been on TV. Since 1995, Penn State has had 137 regular season telecasts, tops in the Big Ten.
Notre Dame will be visiting Happy Valley for the first time since 1991. The Irish won last year in South Bend to take a 9-8-1 series lead.
Penn State and Ohio State, who are tied 11-11 in all-time meetings, will be playing in primetime for the second consecutive time in State College. Two years ago, the Nittany Lions captured a thrilling 17-10 win over the Buckeyes in an electric Beaver Stadium. The 2005 contest is the Big Ten??s highest viewed game on ESPN, as 4.435 million U.S. cable households tuned in.
The Badgers lead the series with the Nittany Lions, 8-4, winning 13-3 last year in Madison.
A Penn State game owns the top four spots and six of the top nine all-time among the highest rated Big Ten football games on ESPN. The Nittany Lions?? win over Michigan State during the unbeaten 1994 Big Ten Championship season remains the highest rated Big Ten game on ESPN with a 5.40 rating. The Nittany Lions?? win over the Buckeyes in 2005 earned a 4.91 rating, the Big Ten??s second highest on ESPN.
Future Penn State contests may be selected by the networks under the six and 12-day provisions of their contracts with the Big Ten Conference.
Coach Joe Paterno enters his 42nd season as head coach with 15 returning starters (8 offense, 6 defense, 1 specialist) from last year??s 9-4 squad. The Nittany Lions have a blockbuster 2007 home schedule that includes five bowl teams from 2006: Notre Dame, Iowa (Oct. 6), Wisconsin (Oct. 13- Homecoming), Ohio State and Purdue (Nov. 3).