Penn State's 2020, 2021 conference schedules announced

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Penn State's philosophy behind scheduling non-conference opponents is something James Franklin outlined at length during Tuesday's news conference, and some key dates were lined up later in the day when the Big Ten released the Lions' future conference schedules.

Penn State's 2020 and 2021 schedules now have dates to go along with the opponents, many of whom were lined up years in advance. While it's long been known that Penn State would play Virginia Tech on the road in 2020, the game will be played on Sept. 12. The Lions still need two more non-conference games to round out the 2020 slate. However, for now this is what the conference schedule looks like:



2020 Penn State Football Schedule:
Sept. 12 at Virginia Tech
Sept. 26 Northwestern
Oct. 3 at Michigan
Oct. 17 Iowa
Oct. 24 Ohio State
Oct. 31 at Indiana
Nov. 7 at Nebraska
Nov. 14 Michigan State
Nov. 21 Maryland
Nov. 28 at Rutgers
Two non-conference games to be scheduled

As for the 2021 schedule, the Lions still need one more non-conference game to round it out, but unlike their last few trips to Madison, this one will come early in the season. Penn State's last two trips to play the Badgers have been played the weekend of Thanksgiving, making Camp Randall's environment a little less amped than usual. That will change in 2021 when Penn State hits the road early on.

2021 Penn State Football Schedule:
Sept. 4 at Wisconsin
Sept. 11 Ball State
Sept. 18 Auburn
Oct. 9 at Iowa
Oct. 16 Illinois
Oct. 23 at Michigan State
Oct. 30 Indiana
Nov. 6 at Maryland
Nov. 13 Michigan
Nov. 20 at Ohio State
Nov. 27 Rutgers
One non-conference game to be scheduled