Tag: Delaware Blue Hens

Here is Penn State’s updated 2023 football schedule

Here is Penn State’s newly updated 2023 football schedule that will be sure to annoy James Franklin.

The Big Ten released its fully updated conference schedule for the 2023 season to accommodate necessary changes made to the football calendar in recent years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. For Penn State, only a few changes were made from what the 2023 schedule once originally had, including the moving of a non-conference matchup with UMass.

And if head coach [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] is tired of having to open Big Ten play on the road, he’s not going to like what is in store in 2023. Penn State will open its Big Ten schedule on the road at Illinois on September 16 before hosting Iowa the following weekend on September 23. Franklin voiced his gripes about Penn State consistently opening conference play on the road, as was the case this season at Purdue in Week 1.

Penn State’s home game against Michigan was moved back on the calendar to November 11 after originally being in mid-October. From the looks of the schedule, Penn State’s biggest games at Ohio State (Oct. 21) and home against Michigan will be separated by two games; a home game against Indiana and a road trip to Maryland.

Penn State will close out the 2023 season on the road at Michigan State, and the final home game of the season will be played against Rutgers.

Penn State’s season opener remains in place against West Virginia of the Big 12, reviving one of the classic regional series from the days before Penn State joined the Big Ten and West Virginia joined the Big East. Penn State will visit West Virginia to open the 2024 season.

The Big Ten schedule for 2024 has yet to be confirmed by the conference at this time, although there are other factors in play. The 2024 season is when the Big Ten is expected to add USC and UCLA as conference members, which should open the door for the conference scheduling model to be given a full overhaul. For now, the division format remains unchanged in 2023, but changes will be incoming soon enough.

Here is the full 2023 Penn State football schedule, although changes could always be made for TV purposes with a potential Thursday or Friday game thrown in the mix.

2023 Penn State Football Schedule

(* = Big Ten Conference game)

  • Sept. 2 vs. West Virginia
  • Sept. 9 vs. Delaware
  • Sept. 16 at Illinois*
  • Sept. 30 vs. Iowa*
  • Oct. 14 vs. UMass
  • Oct. 21 at Ohio State*
  • Oct. 28 vs. Indiana*
  • Nov. 4 at Maryland*
  • Nov. 11 vs. Michigan*
  • Nov. 18 vs. Rutgers*
  • Nov. 25 at Michigan State*

Check out all of Penn State’s confirmed future schedules HERE.

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McGuire’s Musings: Please don’t talk about the College Football Playoff race yet

McGuire’s Musings: Too early for playoff debate, Billy Napier’s big debut at Florida, bad coaching awareness in Week 1, the new cutest animal sidekick in college football, and more

The college football season is still being broken in, and I already am having gripes with some of my most hated features of college football; a lack of goal-line cameras, bad coaching, and way-too-early College Football Playoff debates.

Of course, neither are avoidable any time you settle in for a weekend of college football consumption. And with a top-five showdown between Ohio State and Notre Dame and a game pitting Georgia and Oregon, you are bound to hear the phrase “playoff implications.” That’s a bunch of garbage as far as I’m concerned, and it’s about to be even more ridiculous once the College Football Playoff expands. So, naturally, as Utah lost to Florida hours after Oregon was demolished by Georgia, the quick reaction from some was to ponder if the PAC-12 had been eliminated from the playoff already.

Have we not learned the lessons of the past that show one loss in Week 1 or Week 2 is not the kind of playoff eliminator some may want to believe it is? Going 11-1 and winning your conference still gives you a mighty strong argument to make for the playoff conversation, and we can have those conversations later in the season.

When is the appropriate time to start talking about the playoff hunt? How about at least waiting until after the first release of the College Football Playoff rankings? Honestly, that’s probably still too soon to take it seriously. But I have decided I’m not going to start talking about the playoff picture until I at least move out of shorts weather. And I like to try sticking to shorts until my birthday, which isn’t until early November.

Anyway, I think Alabama and Georgia are going to have a good chance to be in.

Did Notre Dame just give the Big Ten some hope?

Coming into the season, there was little dispute that the Ohio State Buckeyes are the team to beat in the Big Ten. And that may still be true! But the Buckeyes had a struggle against Notre Dame at home in a highly-anticipated matchup. The Irish felt they were being disrespected coming in, and I’ll be among the first to admit I was on board with the idea of Ohio State pulling away and taking care of business.

Whoops.

Ohio State still managed to get the win thanks to a tough and resilient roster built by head coach Ryan Day, but it took time and patience to cross the finish line with the win.

But the question now becomes is anyone in the Big Ten good enough to do what Notre Dame did to Ohio State, to the point that the Buckeyes still are not the team to beat in the conference? Michigan seems to be the most likely candidate, as they should be after topping Ohio State last year and winning the Big Ten. But is there anyone else in the Big Ten that could pose a similar threat to Ohio State?

In fairness, Ohio State did lose their dynamic playmaking wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, but there should still be a load of offense coming from Ohio State this season. Notre Dame’s defense deserves credit for causing the problems it did for the prohibitive Big Ten favorite.

I certainly would hate to be Arkansas State in Week 2. The RedWolves come into Ohio Stadium next weekend, and it may not be pretty as Ohio State looks to vent some frustrations over this one.

NEXT: Billy Napier scores a big win in his Florida debut

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Delaware Head Coach Danny Rocco on Greg Schiano: ‘The Perfect Guy for That Job’

Danny Rocco, head coach of Delaware, praises the job being done by Rutgers football head coach Greg Schiano.

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Delaware head coach Danny Rocco acknowledged the tall mountain his team will need to climb this Saturday at Rutgers. He also had high praise for Scarlet Knights head coach Greg Schiano in the second season of his return back to the Rutgers football program.

Schiano has guided Rutgers to a 2-0 start the season, beating Temple in their home opener and then grinding out a 17-7 win at Syracuse this past Saturday.

Last year in his return to Rutgers, Schiano surprised many in the college football world with a 3-6 record, all in Big Ten play.

Rocco called Schiano “the perfect guy for that job.”

“I would say you talk about that perfect guy for the job, that mindset. I think in a lot of ways, Greg is that,” Rocco told reporters on Monday in his weekly media availability.

“He’s been there before. He has got background, history, relationships, knowledge, and obviously a great resume and experience. So all those things are kind of thrust into a second cycle where things probably were going to happen a little more quickly than if he was new to the area and maybe new to the job and the university. Recruiting wise, his connections with his staff, their connections to him, their connections to the state of New Jersey, the region, and things like that. Now the challenge for them is how quickly can they climb?”

Delaware, despite being in the FCS, is certainly no slouch of a program. Rocco is one of the best head coaches in the region and has his team among the best in the FCS last season. Last season, Rocco was named the AFCA Regional Coach of the Year.

Currently, Delaware is 2-0 after beating St. Francis (PA) this past weekend. They went 5-0 in their regular season last year (played in the spring due to COVID-19), winning the Colonial Athletic Conference for the second time in program history and earning a berth in the FCS Playoffs.

In the postseason, they beat Sacred Heart and Jacksonville State before losing to South Dakota State in the semifinals.

Rocco said that Saturday’s game at a Big Ten opponent will be “business as usual…it’s not a week where I have to do a whole lot of motivating.”

“We’re certainly going to have to go up there and play our best game to feel like we can come out of there with the win,” Rocco said.

“Ultimately, that is the formula: go up there, be at your best, be really good in the biggest moments, the special situations – the third down, the red zone, the kicking game. These things have got to be really good for us. And then find a way to stay in it, keep it tight and find a way to be in at the end to be in a position to make plays to have a chance to win the football game.

“College football is a beautiful thing, I mean it is any given Saturday. You start all over every week, you really do. It’s something I love about the job.”

You have to see this spring touchdown by a 2021 Penn State football opponent

If the Villanova Wildcats bring these kinds of plays into Beaver Stadium, Penn State will have to be on their toes this fall.

Saturday was pretty busy on the spring football practice front. Not only was Penn State in Beaver Stadium for practice in front of actual fans, but schools like Ohio State, Alabama, and LSU were in action with their respective spring football games. But while the world of FBS football is going through a more regular spring practice schedule, a number FCS teams are going through a modified regular season. One of those teams, the Villanova Wildcats, is among them and Villanova scored one of the most hilarious touchdowns of the spring college football season.

Late in a game against the rival Delaware Blue Hens (who pop up on Penn State’s schedule in 2023), Villanova quarterback Daniel Smith rolled out to his right as he looked for an open receiver in the end zone. But as Delaware’s defense was closing in on him, Smith began falling to the ground and he somehow got rid of the football (or it simply flew out of his hand) and it happened to be hauled in by tight end Charlie Gilroy for a touchdown.

You just have to see it to believe it.

The crazy touchdown brought Villanova within a score of Delaware, but the Blue Hens finished the game on top with a 27-20 victory. But it will be this touchdown that gets the most attention from this game between two top-10 teams.

Penn State is scheduled to host Villanova on September 25, 2021. Here’s hoping Penn State defensive coordinator catches this on the game film so his players can be ready for just about anything Villanova throws at them.

Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion.

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You have to see this spring touchdown by a 2021 Penn State football opponent

If the Villanova Wildcats bring these kinds of plays into Beaver Stadium, Penn State will have to be on their toes this fall.

Saturday was pretty busy on the spring football practice front. Not only was Penn State in Beaver Stadium for practice in front of actual fans, but schools like Ohio State, Alabama, and LSU were in action with their respective spring football games. But while the world of FBS football is going through a more regular spring practice schedule, a number FCS teams are going through a modified regular season. One of those teams, the Villanova Wildcats, is among them and Villanova scored one of the most hilarious touchdowns of the spring college football season.

Late in a game against the rival Delaware Blue Hens (who pop up on Penn State’s schedule in 2023), Villanova quarterback Daniel Smith rolled out to his right as he looked for an open receiver in the end zone. But as Delaware’s defense was closing in on him, Smith began falling to the ground and he somehow got rid of the football (or it simply flew out of his hand) and it happened to be hauled in by tight end Charlie Gilroy for a touchdown.

You just have to see it to believe it.

The crazy touchdown brought Villanova within a score of Delaware, but the Blue Hens finished the game on top with a 27-20 victory. But it will be this touchdown that gets the most attention from this game between two top-10 teams.

Penn State is scheduled to host Villanova on September 25, 2021. Here’s hoping Penn State defensive coordinator catches this on the game film so his players can be ready for just about anything Villanova throws at them.

Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion.

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