June 13, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ââ'¬" The Penn State Football schedule continues to fill out as two more game times were announced today. The Nittany Lions open the 2016 season in Beaver Stadium against Kent State Sept. 3 at 3:30 p.m. on the Big Ten Network and Penn State will host Temple Sept. 17 at noon on BTN in the Stripe Out game.
Previously announced, the Nittany Lions visit Pittsburgh Sept. 10 at noon and Penn State hosts Maryland for Homecoming Oct. 8 at noon, Ohio State for the Penn State White Out Oct. 22 at 8 p.m. and Iowa for Seats for Service Members Nov. 5 at 7:30 p.m. Additionally, Penn State's game at Rutgers is slated for an 8 p.m. kick Nov. 19.
The Nittany Lions opened the 2015 season at Temple with the Owls earning a 27-10 win. The last time Temple visited Beaver Stadium, Penn State collected a 30-13 win in the 2014 season. The Nittany Lion defense forced five turnovers, while Akeel Lynch (130) and Bill Belton (92) paced the Penn State rushing attack that had a season-high 254 yards.
Penn State's defense guided the Nittany Lions to a 34-0 win over Kent State the last time the squads squared off in 2013. Glen Carson led the way for the defense with seven tackles, including two for a loss, while Ryan Keiser had four tackles and an interception. The Nittany Lions racked up 287 yards on the ground with Lynch rushing for 123 yards on 14 carries.
Every Penn State football game has been televised the past 11 seasons and 275 of the last 277 contests overall have been on TV. Penn State will play at least one regular season night game for the 17th consecutive season.
In addition to the television arrangements, Penn State's games will also be available on the Penn State Sports Network and GoPSUsports.com.
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.
Season tickets for the 2016 campaign, which includes five Big Ten home games for the first time are on sale, with more than 3,500 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 www.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.