Will the Penn State Nittany Lions be on the field today in Week 9 of the college football schedule?
After suffering a fourth straight loss last week at Iowa, Penn State is off this week with a pair of massive matchups coming up next. Penn State is 3-4 overall and has fallen to 0-4 in the Big Ten standings this season. Penn State started the season ranked No. 3 in the US LBM Coaches Poll and has fallen out of the top-25 rankings in recent weeks during this tough stretch of losses, which has resulted in a coaching change.
Penn State removed James Franklin as head coach following a disappointing loss at home to Northwestern, which followed losses to Oregon and UCLA. Penn State has named assistant head coach Terry Smith as its interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Smith made his coaching debut with Penn State last week on the road at Iowa, but the Nittany Lions let a double-digit second-half lead slip away in a 25-24 loss to the Hawkeyes.
Penn State has been hit hard with key injuries to starting quarterback Drew Allar and star linebacker Tony Rojas. Allar is done for the season and Rojas is out with what has been described as a long-term injury. In the meantime, Penn State will hope to rely on leading rusher Kaytron Allen and the defensive effort led by Dani Dennis-Sutton up front and Zakee Wheatley in the secondary.
Penn State returns to action in Week 10 with its most challenging road trip of the season, at Ohio State. The Buckeyes are the No. 1 team in the country and are hoping to make a repeat run as national champion this season. Penn State has won in Columbus just twice since joining the Big Ten in 1993 (2008 and 2011). Penn State has lost eight striaght games to Ohio State since a home victory in 2016 helped catapult Penn State to a surprising Big Ten title run.
Penn State 2025 schedule, results
- Aug. 30: Penn State 46, Nevada 11
- Sep. 6: Penn State 34, FIU 0
- Sep. 13: Penn State 52, Villanova 6
- Sep. 27: Oregon 30, Penn State 24 (OT)
- Oct. 4: UCLA 42, Penn State 37
- Oct. 11: Northwestern 22, Penn State 21
- Oct. 18: Iowa 25, Penn State 24
- Nov. 1: at Ohio State, 12:00 p.m. ET
- Nov. 8: vs. Indiana, TBA
- Nov. 15: at Michigan State, TBA
- Nov. 22, vs. Nebraska, TBA
- Nov. 29: at Rutgers, TBA
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