Greg McElroy rips Penn State-Michigan State game being moved indoors to Ford Field

Penn State and Michigan State will play Black Friday at Ford Field in Detroit this fall and Greg McElroy is not a fan at all.

Instead of a game in East Lansing for the Spartans, they get to host Penn State in the national spotlight in a dome and controlled environment. Safe to say, some are not happy about this choice ahead of Thanksgiving weekend.

Traditionally, the two teams play each other during rivalry weekend, but now they’ll be on an NFL field with mixed reviews upon the announcement.

“Now I’m fine with that being played on Black Friday, I am not fine with it being played at Ford Field,” McElroy said on Always College Football. “And I know we’ve talked about this already a little bit when we discussed the Big Ten situation with Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan and how there’s kind of an unwritten rule or it is written, but you know, they don’t talk about that they don’t play at night in November. And I get that. Look, I know it’s cold up there.

“I played for the Bengals, like I know that it’s really cold there in Cincinnati or in Ohio or when we played against the Buffalo Bills in Week 17, multiple times. Like I know it’s cold, I get it. But to me what makes Big Ten football awesome are the elements.” 

McElroy rattled off numerous examples of Big Ten football being awesome late in the season. And we use the word awesome because seeing snow at a football game is one of life’s great treasures.

“What you might have to play at Wisconsin, in two inches of snow, that’s unique,” McElroy said. “Well, we watch MACtion on Tuesday nights. How cool is it to see these guys going out in sub-zero temperatures at times and leaving it all on the field? It’s synonymous with that part of the world.

“Like when I think about Michigan, the state of Michigan … in late November, I think snow, I think frigid temperatures, and I think tough people that go out there shirtless, paint their chest and Just bear it throughout the course of the game. And the fact that they’re trying to make it easier, I just don’t understand what the thought process is.”

Not only that, but McElroy used the example of the FCS Playoffs, which are played no matter the conditions. Clearly, this is not Ford Field.

“Let me lean into that. When I watch games in the FCS in the playoffs, I saw a game a couple years ago at Montana and it was 14-below-zero,” McElroy said. “Cam Newton was in the stands. You can’t even see him because he was so wrapped up because his brother was playing on the other team. Like embrace that. 

“That’s part of what makes that part of the country a really cool part of the country. So I don’t necessarily love the idea of moving to a big corporate venue at the end of the year and what would be considered a ‘rivalry’ game. So I don’t love that, but I love that it’s being played on Black Friday.”

Michigan State technically hosts Penn State at Ford Field, but that regular season finale will sure look and feel different.