'We just got to go beat the people in front of us': Pat Kraft on end of Penn State playing Ohio State, Michigan annually
Indianapolis, Ind. — Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft is aware that some members of ‘Nittany Nation’ are not happy that the Lions’ long-standing annual matchups with Michigan and Ohio State will end with the start of the 2024 Big Ten slate. But, he’s not focused on the fact that his football team is the only conference school without a protected opponent for the next two league years. That, combined with the ending of the East and West divisions next year, is why the Buckeyes, Wolverines, and Nittany Lions won’t continue to meet annually.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Kraft took an ‘it is what it is’ approach when asked to publicly address the news that the Lions will play only OSU in 2024 and only Michigan in 2025. And, he played off of head football coach James [Franklin]‘s reoccurring ‘PSUUnrivaled’ line to boot.
“The conference handles all the scheduling,” Kraft said at the JW Marriot Hotel, which is just a short walk from the site of this week’s Big Ten Media Days, which start Wednesday. “James [Franklin] and I laughed, [and said] ‘well, we really are unrivaled. We say it.”
Kraft went on to reiterate his and Franklin’s displeasure regarding how many times Penn State has opened Big Ten play on the road in recent years. He added a belief that first-year conference commissioner Tony Petitti puts all conference schools ‘in a really good spot’ when it comes to scheduling (among other things) thanks to his background with Major League Baseball. And, he acknowledged that sometimes, things, such as future league opponents, are out of Penn State’s control.
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“It gets to be a little bit of a political thing, of push and pull, but it is what it is,” Kraft said. “We’ll play whoever. We don’t get to dictate schedules. And it shouldn’t be that way. We’ll line up and play anybody and move on.”
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Kraft joked that if he could pick a protected opponent for Penn State, it would be his alma mater, Indiana. But, in all seriousness, the leader of the Nittany Lions athletic department sees any Big Ten battle as a worthy one moving forward. And, he doesn’t see the end of the annual marquee staples on the Big Ten schedule as something worth fretting over.
“I know everyone talks about the Ohio State game,” Kraft said. “I’ve watched those games, and I watched last year’s game, and Michigan. You look at the Big Ten now, every game is going to be a battle. So, I know our fans would probably say Ohio State, they want that game, and the reality is, we’ll play them. Even without divisions, we’re going to continue to play them. I go back to, and James [Franklin] and I both have the same philosophy: If you get caught up, I don’t think it’s been right that we’ve been on the road, and that will be addressed. I don’t think it’s a fair way of scheduling. There was a miscue.
“But when it comes down to how you’re going to play, who you’re going to play, and when you’re going to play, that’s not our place. We just got to go beat the people in front of us, no matter who it is.”
