Penn State releases new schedule, will open Sept. 5
Penn State will open its 2020 football season against Northwestern Sept. 5 at Beaver Stadium as part of a Big Ten schedule that was revised because of the coronavirus outbreak.
The Big Ten announced Wednesday that the season is scheduled to begin Sept. 3 with
Illinois traveling to Ohio State and end Nov. 21, one week earlier than usual. Each team will play 10 games against conference opponents with two byes, which allows flexibility in case a team can’t play because of COVID-19.
“It’s a fluid situation,” Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren said. “There’s no guarantee that we’ll have fall sports or a football season, but we’re doing everything we possibly can to be able to have fall sports, that things are organized and done in a very methodical and professional manner.”
Warren suggested that the season might not start until later in September depending on the spread of the coronavirus. The Big Ten championship game is scheduled for Dec. 5 in Indianapolis, but it could be moved as far back as Dec. 19.
“If something were to happen, that we don’t start on Sept. 5, we have the flexibility to start on Sept. 12 or 19,” he said. “Because we have those open dates throughout the schedule and on the back end, we would be able to collapse some of those earlier games to a later date.
“The big thing for us right now is the health and safety of our student-athletes and everyone in our Big Ten community.”
Warren said that football teams will be allowed to begin preseason practice on Friday, as scheduled.
The Nittany Lions will play the same nine conference opponents originally on their schedule, plus a trip to Illinois in the regular season finale.
After Northwestern, Penn State plays back-to-back road games against Indiana (Sept. 12) and Michigan (Sept. 19) before facing Michigan State (Sept. 26) at home. The Lions travel to Rutgers (Oct. 3) before their first bye week (Oct. 10).
Penn State then plays home games against Maryland (Oct. 17) and Iowa (Oct. 24) before a trip to Nebraska (Oct. 31) and a potential showdown against Big Ten East rival Ohio State Nov. 7 at Beaver Stadium. After a bye week Nov. 14, the Lions are scheduled to finish at Illinois on Nov. 21.
Penn State issued a statement that said season-ticket holders will be emailed information Thursday.
“We are very hopeful to have a Big Ten football season and to have fall sports,” Warren said. “We’re approaching this process on a day-to-day basis. We’re gathering medical information daily.”
Each Big Ten school will handle coronavirus protocols, including testing, until the conference takes over once competition begins and testing is processed through a “third-party laboratory.”
Warren said athletes in “low-contact” sports will be tested once a week and that athletes in “high-contact” sports such as football will be tested twice a week. He didn’t say what the threshold of positive cases would be for a school to cancel a game or halt practice. Within the last week, Rutgers suspended voluntary workouts because 28 football players reportedly tested positive for COVID-19.
Under the guidelines, all athletes will be tested three days before each competition.
“Testing is a critical component to the overall health, wellness and safety of our student-athletes, of our students on campus, and everyone in society,” Warren said. “It doesn’t solve all the issues . ... Testing is critical.”
Warren said he “feels good” about where the Big Ten is. He spoke with one football player and one athlete from another sport from each school earlier this week.
“My son (Powers) plays football at Mississippi State,” he said. “Would I be comfortable for him to participate in the Big Ten based on the testing policies, protocols and procedures we have in place? As of today, the answer is yes.”
But even Warren admitted he’s not sure whether the Big Ten fall seasons will start on time or be completed.
“All we can do is be organized, be methodical and be thoughtful,” he said. “We have to make sure we’re treating our athletes with the utmost respect and creating an environment for our athletes, coaches and everyone involved that is safe and healthy.
“It would be purely speculation for me to say, ‘This is what percent we’ll have a season.’”
LB PARSONS REPORTEDLY SKIPPING JUNIOR YEAR » Penn State All-American linebacker Micah Parsons, expected to be one of the top defensive players in college football, is opting out of his junior season to enter the 2021 NFL draft, according to a Yahoo Sports report Tuesday night.
Parsons, who graduated from Harrisburg High School, has been projected to be taken in the first 15 picks of the draft next spring. He’s slated to be part of a Nittany Lions group of linebackers that many considered to be among the best in the country.
He became the first sophomore to be named the Big Ten Linebacker of the Year last season. A finalist for the Butkus Award last year, he could join LaVar Arrington (1999) and Paul Posluszny (2005) as Penn State’s only winners.
He also could become the Lions’ sixth two-time AllAmerica linebacker.
“I want to win it all,” Parsons said earlier this year. “I want to win a national championship first. I want to be a unanimous All-American. I want to win the Butkus. I want to join that group of the top players who came to Penn State. I want to put myself in history with some important people.”
He capped last season, when he was named a consensus All-American, with a spectacular performance in Penn State’s Cotton Bowl win over Memphis, making 14 tackles and two sacks, forcing two fumbles and hurrying quarterback Brady White into Garrett Taylor’s game-changing interception, which he returned for a touchdown.
Parsons has the size (63, 244), speed (4.4) and strength (school-record 375 pounds in power clean) to be the nation’s most dominant defensive player this season.
“There are a couple plays that he makes in every ballgame that the guys in the room will kind of get bigeyed and say, ‘Holy cow!’ ” Penn State defensive coordinator Brent Pry said earlier this year. “He can start wrong one way, redirect and, in no time, he’s running by people at full speed. He has great acceleration, great bend and tremendous instincts.
“He has no regard for his body. He doesn’t worry about banging his elbow or busting a knuckle. He’s very durable. He practices hard. He plays hard.”