What time will Penn State-Illinois start in Week 3, and what channel will it be on?
Time and television information is out for a Week 3 clash between Penn State and Illinois. The Nittany Lions and Fighting Illini will meet at Noon on FOX, the network and Big Ten conference announced on Wednesday. The Sept. 16 clash will take place in Champaign, Ill.
It is the fourth known start time for head coach James Franklin’s team. It opens the year at 7:30 p.m. when West Virginia visits Beaver Stadium. In Week 4, Penn State hosts Iowa at 8 p.m. on CBS, which is the program’s annual White Out game. The season finale, then, will feature the Lions against Michigan State at Ford Field in Detroit, Mich. That game starts at 7:30 p.m. on FOX.
Additionally, Penn State-Michigan game on Nov. 11 in State College will start at Noon on FOX and be that network’s featured game of the day.
BWI’s Ryan Snyder reported on the possibility of both games being on FOX inside The Lions Den forum earlier this month. Sign up today to learn more insider news and notes about the Nittany Lions by clicking here.
Early Penn State-Illinois preview
A betting line is not yet out for the September contest. But, ESPN’s SP+ projects Penn State as a 16.5-point favorite on a neutral field. This game will be at Memorial Stadium, of course, which means the Lions will likely be around a two-touchdown favorite.
All-time, PSU holds a 20-6 series edge. James Franklin is 3-2 against the Big Ten West side, which is now coached by Bret Bielema. It is his third year leading the blue and orange, who were 8-5 a year ago.
“I just told the guys, ‘Listen, we’ve got 12 practices behind us,” Bielema told WCIA in April. I think we’ve stepped forward on all 12. It’s funny, if you interview our guys they’ll say, ‘Hey, this is practice number nine, practice number eight.’ I don’t know if a lot of people track that, but our guys do because we know we only get 15 opportunities. We really preach taking advantage of it.
“Thought our new guys that have come in at the semester have done a nice job of jumping in. I think our older guys have really done a nice job of adapting them. Our four new coaches have really fit in very, very well, so I’m excited about the progress.”
Franklin was happy with his own team’s progress during spring ball, as well. The Lions exited their 15 days of drills healthy with hopes of having every player who missed parts of or all of spring practice back for preseason camp. Penn State is gearing up for summer workouts and, like the Fighting Illini, will have a few games under their respective belts before the two sides meet in Champaign.
2023 Nittany Lions schedule
Here is this year’s schedule with known kickoff times and TV listings so far:
Sept. 2 — West Virginia at Penn State, 7:30 p.m. ET (NBC)
Sept. 9 — Delaware at PSU, Noon (PEACOCK)
Sep. 16 — Penn State at Illinois, Noon (FOX)
Sept. 23 — Iowa at PSU, 8 p.m. ET (CBS)
Sept. 30 — Penn State at Northwestern, TBD
Oct. 7 — BYE
Oct. 14 — UMass at PSU, 3:30 pm (TBD)
Oct. 21 — PSU at Ohio State, TBD
Oct. 28 – Indiana at PSU, TBD
Nov. 4 — PSU at Maryland, TBD
Nov 11 — Michigan at Penn State, Noon, FOX
Nov. 18 — Rutgers at PSU, TBD
Nov. 24 — PSU at Michigan State, 7:30 p.m. (NBC)
