After eager anticipation from the Happy Valley faithful, Penn State’s 2026 schedule has been released, marking the first slate of games where Matt Campbell will be leading the Nittany Lions from the sidelines.
Penn State 2026 schedule:9/5: Marshall9/12: Temple (Lincoln Financial Field)9/19: Buffalo9/26: Wisconsin10/3: @ Northwestern10/10: USC10/17: @ Michigan10/24: Bye10/31: Purdue11/7: @ Washington11/14: Minnesota11/21: Rutgers11/27: @ Maryland
— Lyle Alenstein (@LAlenstein) January 27, 2026
Here is what you need to know about the schedule.
Favorable nonconference slate
Penn State starts the season once again with a trio of nonconference opponents. All three of the games will be played in Pennsylvania, with two of them being at Beaver Stadium.
Those opponents will be Marshall, Temple and Buffalo. When the Nittany Lions face the Thundering Herd and the Bulls, it’ll be in State College. In Week 2, they’ll travel to Lincoln Financial Field, also the home of the Philadelphia Eagles, to play the Owls.
In 2025, all three squads boasted a 5-7 record, making Penn State likely a way-too-early favorite by a comfortable margin in every matchup.
The Nittany Lions will see familiar faces when they face Temple, as quarterback Jaxon Smolik, tight end Joey Schlaffer, safety Kolin Dinkins and defensive tackle Kaleb Artis all transferred to the Owls following the 2025 season.
The idea of facing lower-level FBS and FCS programs for Power Four conferences will likely be a trend for the foreseeable future, as schools will want to minimize losses in pursuit of a College Football Playoff appearance.
Toughest stretch
Weeks 6 and 7 will be the toughest stretch of games for the Nittany Lions, hosting USC and traveling to Michigan in consecutive weeks.
During the 2025-26 campaign, both sides boasted a 9-4 record, finishing right next to each other in the final AP Poll of the year, as the Trojans were No. 20 and the Wolverines were No. 21. Both teams lost in the postseason, as USC fell to TCU in the Alamo Bowl while Michigan dropped the Citrus Bowl to Texas.
Both teams bring back their star quarterbacks, with USC returning Jayden Maiva and Michigan bringing back Bryce Underwood. There also are some changes, as the Trojans lost defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn to Penn State for the same role while the Wolverines replaced head coach Sherrone Moore with Kyle Whittingham from Utah.
The game’s on Oct. 10, so there’s a good chance the USC game is the White Out with it being at the midway point of the season and the Trojans being the best opponent up to that point. On the other hand, a road game at Michigan Stadium is a daunting environment, as the atmosphere “the Big House” creates is up there for one of the best in college football.
Overall
On paper, Penn State has a pretty easy schedule, but as the 2025 season indicated, that doesn’t mean it’ll be a breeze.
The expectation this past season was the only regular season losses for the Nittany Lions could’ve been Oregon and Ohio State. Instead, it resulted in a six-loss, spiraling season.
With that being said, the only matchups that present a notable challenge on paper in 2026 are USC and Michigan.
An argument can be made for Washington as well, as Penn State will make the cross-country trip to face the Huskies for the first time on the road since they joined the Big Ten.
Still, the makeup of the roster shows this, as of January, is a team that should be able to win football games. With no Indiana, Ohio State or Oregon on the schedule, and Purdue, Rutgers and Maryland on it, the slate gives Campbell an opportunity to cash in on an easier schedule in Year 1 at the helm.
With that being said, the talent on the roster has to gel together for the schedule to work out in Penn State’s favor. The makeup of the roster is those coming transferring in from 8-4 Iowa State, players who stuck around from a 7-6 Penn State and an assortment of recruits and other transfers.
If the roster can find its chemistry come August, the 2026 group of games should have Campbell leading the Nittany Lions to a winning record in comfortable fashion next year.
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