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The Penn State Nittany Lions will face a stiff challenge thanks to the football schedule in 2021. Road trips to Wisconsin and Iowa in cross-division play along with annual matchups with Ohio State and Michigan make for a challenge in conference replay. Throw in last year’s surprising good team in the Indiana Hoosiers and the anticipated non-conference tilt with Auburn, and Penn State’s 2021 schedule is among the most interesting in the Big Ten.
But how many of those games on Penn State’s schedule are among the top 10 games played by Big Ten teams this season? According to 247 Sports, three.
247 Sports recently compiled a list of the top 10 Big Ten games being played this season, including certain non-conference matchups. Ohio State’s rivalry game with Michigan, despite the lopsided nature of the series in more recent seasons, takes the top spot, but Penn State is involved in a few of the notable games on the list.
Penn State’s game against Auburn checks in at No. 9 on the list, with new Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin leading the Tigers into Happy Valley for the first game in a home-and-home series. The focus appears to be more on what Harsin will do with Auburn as he gets started in the SEC, but this is a pretty big game for James Franklin and the Nittany Lions as well.
In recent years, Penn State’s game with the Buckeyes would be considerably higher in this type of list, but Penn State’s struggles in 2020 have dropped the Nittany Lions on the national radar entering 2021. That’s partly why Penn State’s road game at Ohio State on Nov. 20 is ranked No. 8 according to this list.
Penn State’s revenge game against Indiana, scheduled for Oct. 30 in Beaver Stadium, is ranked sixth on the list from 247 Sports. A year ago, who would have thought a Penn State-Indiana would even be considered for such a list? But the Hoosiers got their fun 2020 season off on the right foot with their upset of Penn State in the delayed 2020 season opener for both teams. Indiana should be very competitive again this season, and their trip to Happy Valley should be a good one.
As far as the non-conference games on the 247 Sports list, there are some differences between their ranking and the one compiled on top non-conference matchups in the Big Ten from Athlon Sports.
The 2021 season opener between Penn State and Wisconsin is probably deserving of some consideration for including on this list, but it may have fallen just off the chopping block. And the lack of a Penn State-Michigan game probably is telling of the perception of Penn State and/or Michigan going into the 2021 season.
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