Penn State robbed of primetime slot for Ohio State Game, White Out fears realized

When Penn State’s 2024 football schedule came out, it appeared easy to pencil in the Ohio State matchup at Beaver Stadium on November 2 as the White Out. However, FOX threw a wrench into those plans because the Big Ten’s primary television network wanted the Ohio State/Penn State game to be featured in the noon time slot as its Big Noon Kickoff game. 

The fears of a potential noon kickoff for the White Out, instead of a primetime slot, forced the program to move the White Out to a week later on November 9 when the Nittany Lions host the Washington Huskies. Well, those fears were realized on Monday when it was announced that the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions would play at noon in Happy Valley for Big Noon Kickoff. 

The matchup between Penn State and Ohio State is likely to be between two top 5 teams in Week 10 as both are favorites in Week 9. This week, the Nittany Lions will head to Madison to play the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium and are currently favored by 6.5 points. Ohio State, meanwhile, is a 24.5-point home favorite against Nebraska in a game that will also be featured on Big Noon Kickoff. 

It would’ve been great if Penn State got to take advantage of its White Out environment to increase its home-field advantage for the biggest game of the season. However, if a fanbase can’t get up for what should be a top-5 matchup with a chance to essentially knock your biggest conference rival out of the conference title conversation and ensure a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff in the process just because the game has an early start, that’s not one of the best fanbases in the country, and Penn State has one of the best fanbases in the country. 

Nittany Lions fans will be rocking at Beaver Stadium and wearing both blue and white on November 2. This will be James Franklin’s best chance to beat the Buckeyes since 2018, and a noon kickoff doesn’t change that.