University Park, Pa. — Penn State and Northwestern are set to cap the Big Ten Network’s seven-game slate of prime time football games during the 2011 season.
The Nittany Lions and Wildcats will meet on Oct. 22 in Evanston, with kick set for 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT at Ryan Field. It will be the first prime time match-up between Penn State and Northwestern.
The contest is the Nittany Lions’ first announced kick time for the upcoming season. Penn State will be playing at least one regular season night game for the 12th consecutive season.
Penn State leads the series with Northwestern, 11-3. Last season, the Nittany Lions rallied from a 21-0 deficit late in the second quarter, scoring 35 unanswered points for a 35-21 decision to deliver Coach Joe Paterno’s 400th career victory. The comeback was Penn State’s largest in Beaver Stadium under the Hall of Fame coach and tied for its largest overall under Paterno (at Illinois in 1994).
Penn State is in the Big Ten’s Leaders Division and Northwestern is in the Legends Divison. The teams will meet Oct. 6, 2012 in Beaver Stadium and then are not scheduled meet during the next two regular seasons.
A Big Ten record-tying 14 home football games will air in prime time this season on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 or the Big Ten Network. Every Big Ten team will make at least one prime time appearance during the 2011 season. From 2007-11, a total of 63 Big Ten home football contests will have been televised in prime time.
The kick times for Penn State’s first two games and Oct. 15 Homecoming contest with Purdue should be announced by July 1. The Nittany Lions open the season vs. Indiana State (Sept. 3), then welcome Alabama to Beaver Stadium for the first time since 1989 on Sept. 10. Penn State visits Temple on Sept. 17 and hosts Eastern Michigan (Sept. 24) to conclude non-conference play.
The Big Ten Network is available to more than 75 million homes through agreements with more than 300 cable, satellite and telco providers in all 50 states and Canada. Atlantic Broadband, Cablevision, CATV Service, Comcast, Consolidated Communications, Kuhn Communications, Nittany Media, RCN, Service Electric Broadband, Service Electric Cable TV & Communications, Service Electric Cablevision, Shen-Heights TV, Time-Warner Cable and Windstream are among the Pennsylvania cable providers who carry Big Ten Network.
Armstrong, Blue Ridge, MetroCast and Adams Cable, though, do not carry the Big Ten Network in Pennsylvania and the Youngstown, Ohio area. More than 35,000 Penn State alumni live in the communities served by the four cable providers in Pennsylvania and the Youngstown area, in addition to thousands more fans and current Penn State students.
The Nittany Lions return 41 letterwinners and 15 starters for the 2011 season, (7 offense, 7 defense, 1 specialist), as well as 17 players that have starting experience. Since the start of the 2005 season, Penn State has earned a 58-19 (75.3) record, tied with Oregon for No. 12 in the nation. Over the past six years the Nittany Lions have won two Big Ten Championships, won four bowl games and played in five New Year’s or Bowl Championship Series (BCS) games, the nation’s third-highest total. Season tickets are available for the 2011 season. The Nittany Lions will face seven teams that played in bowl games last year, including four at home. Among the teams coming to Beaver Stadium this fall are: Alabama, Iowa (Oct. 8), Purdue (Oct. 15-Homecoming), Illinois (Oct. 29) and Nebraska (Nov. 12). All Penn State fans are encouraged to wear white to the highly-anticipated clash with the Crimson Tide. For information on joining the Nittany Lion Club and purchasing season tickets, as well as club seating in Beaver Stadium, fans can call 1-800-648-8269 (1-800-NITTANY).
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| 2011 Penn State Football Schedule | |
| Sept. 3 | Indiana State |
| Sept. 10 | Alabama (Whitehouse) |
| Sept. 17 | at Temple |
| Sept. 24 | Eastern Michigan (Jersey Day) |
| Oct. 1 | **at Indiana |
| Oct. 8 | *Iowa |
| Oct. 15 | **Purdue (Homecoming) |
| Oct. 22 | *at Northwestern, 7:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. CT (Big Ten Network) |
| Oct. 29 | **Illinois (Champs Day) |
| Nov. 12 | *Nebraska (Senior Day) |
| Nov. 19 | **at Ohio State |
| Nov. 26 | **at Wisconsin |
| Dec. 3 | Big Ten Championship Game; Indianapolis |
| * Big Ten game | |
| ** Big Ten Leaders Division game | |
About the Big Ten Network: A joint venture between the Big Ten Conference and Fox Networks, the Big Ten Network is the first internationally distributed network dedicated to covering one of the premier collegiate conferences in the country. With more than 600 events, all in HD, the 24/7 network is the ultimate destination for Big Ten fans and alumni across the country, allowing them to see their favorite teams, regardless of where they live. Events include football, men’s and women’s basketball games; dozens of Big Ten Championship events; studio shows; coaches’ shows; and classic games. The network televises and streams more Olympic sporting events and women’s sports than has ever been aired on any other network. Original programming highlights activities and accomplishments of some of the nation’s finest universities. The groundbreaking Student U initiative provides real-world experience for students interested in careers in sports television.
The network is available to more than 75 million homes across the United States and Canada, and currently has agreements with more than 300 affiliates, including DirecTV, DISH Network, AT&T U-Verse, Verizon FiOS, Atlantic Broadband, Cablevision, Charter, Comcast, Cox (Cleveland, Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas, Omaha, Las Vegas and Northern Virginia), Insight, Mediacom, Nittany Media, RCN, Rogers Cable (Canada), Service Electric, Shaw Cable and Shaw Direct (Canada), Time-Warner Cable and Windstream. For updated information on the Big Ten Network, go to www.BigTenNetwork.com.