May 2, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - For the fifth consecutive season, Penn State and Ohio State will meet under the lights on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2. The teams will square off in the annual Penn State White Out game at Beaver Stadium at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22.
The Penn State-Ohio State clash annually is one of the nation's most highly anticipated contests. The teams have met every year since Penn State began Big Ten competition in 1993.
The last time the teams met in Beaver Stadium, an electric Penn State Whiteout crowd of 107,895 watched a thrilling double overtime game with Ohio State claiming a 31-24 win. Wide receiver DaeSean Hamilton caught a Penn State-record 14 passes for 126 yards to lead the offensive effort. Mike Hull tallied a career-high 19 tackles, including 2.5 for a loss, and Brandon Bell added 13 stops to pace the defense.
Penn State will play at least one regular season night game for the 17th consecutive season. Every Penn State football game has been televised the past 11 seasons and 275 of the last 277 contests overall have been on TV.
In addition to airing on the ABC/ESPN family of networks, the game will also be available on the Penn State Sports Network and GoPSUsports.com. Additional Nittany Lion kick times will be announced later this spring.
The Nittany Lions return 40 lettermen and 16 starters from last year's TaxSlayer Bowl squad, led by Freshman All-American running back Saquon Barkley and All-Big Ten honorees Chris Godwin, DaeSean Hamilton, Jason Cabinda, Marcus Allen and Grant Haley.
Barkley rushed for a Penn State freshman record 1,076 yards last season on the way to earning Freshman All-America accolades and All-Big Ten second team honors. Godwin became just the third player in program history to register 1,000 receiving yards in a season with 1,101 yards on 69 catches. He was also an All-Big Ten second team choice by the media and third team selection by the coaches. Hamilton earned All-Big Ten honors for the second-straight season with an honorable mention pick in 2015.
Cabinda was honorable mention All-Big Ten after collecting 100 tackles last season to lead the team and rank 15th in the conference. Allen was second on the team with 81 tackles in 12 games a year ago. He also forced a pair of fumbles en route to All-Big Ten honorable mention accolades. Haley was named All-Big Ten honorable mention after leading the team with nine passes defended and made 42 tackles.
The Nittany Lions open the 2016 campaign against Kent State at Beaver Stadium on Saturday, September 3.
Season tickets for the 2016 campaign, which includes five Big Ten home games for the first time are on sale, with nearly 3,000 new season tickets having been sold. There will not be any increase in the price of Penn State football season tickets or Nittany Lion Club donation levels for next season.
For information on joining the Nittany Lion Club and purchasing new 2016 season tickets, as well as club seating in Beaver Stadium, fans can visit PSUnrivaled.com, call 1-800-NITTANY weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office weekdays from 10 a.m-6 p.m.