Penn State football reportedly made a change to its 2027 regular season schedule on Thursday, Jan. 22. The Inside Zone's Matt Fortuna posted the updates on Twitter/X.
Penn State fans will get a laugh out of James Franklin's first schedule move at VT
The Nittany Lions initially had Delaware scheduled as one of their non-conference opponents for 2027. Both schools "mutually agreed to cancel" the matchup, according to Fortuna. As a result, the Fightin' Blue Hens put Illinois on their schedule and Penn State made a swap that only proves critiques' point further.
The blue and white reportedly put Maine on their 2027 schedule in place of Delaware. Penn State and the Fightin' Blue Hens initially scheduled their game in 2018 when they were still an FCS team. Now that they jumped to the FBS level, even though it was a mutual agreement between the schools, the Nittany Lions struggled to beat the "cupcake schedule" allegations.
In place of that matchup, Penn State scheduled Maine on its non-conference slate. The Black Bears are an FCS squad.
Sources: Penn State will now host Maine in 2027.
— Matt Fortuna (@Matt_Fortuna) January 22, 2026
This replaces Delaware for PSU. When that game was scheduled in 2018, Delaware was still in the FCS.
The Blue Hens and Nittany Lions worked together to find a replacement, with Delaware covering the difference in guarantee cost. https://t.co/ZMMOwszP59
Penn State schedules FCS Maine on its 2027 schedule in place of Delaware
The Nittany Lions played Nevada, Florida International, and Villanova in 2025. Despite the crash-and-burn season they ultimately had, that three-game non-conference slate earned loads of criticism. The supposed No. 2 team in the country scheduling an FCS opponent alongside two other "cupcake" teams was laughable.
Maine finished the 2025 season 6-6 and 5-3 in the Coastal Athletic Association. It opened its season with a four-game losing streak to Liberty, William & Marry, Stonehill, and Georgia Southern. Despite things looking up for a period of time, the Black Bears finished with two losses to ranked FCS opponents: Rhode Island and New Hampshire.
At first, the easy schedule was a pattern of Virginia Tech head coach James Franklin. Head coach Matt Campbell seems to be treading that same line. The Hokies removed James Madison, a 2025-26 College Football Playoff team, from their 2026 schedule. Their 2026 non-conference slate consists of VMI, Old Dominion, and Maryland.
Campbell has time to prove he's not just another Franklin at Penn State. His track record against top-ranked teams before coming to Happy Valley was one thing worrisome for the Nittany Lions and adding a cupcake non-conference opponent is another. However, it'll be results on the field that ultimately decide whether Campbell can get over the hump Franklin couldn't.