Kickoff Time, TV Broadcast Set For Villanova Game - Penn - 247 Sports

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Penn State started a four-week span of home games last Saturday, beating Ball State, 44-13, in front 105,000-plus people at Beaver Stadium. Ahead of a Saturday night showdown against SEC opponent Auburn, details have also been released for the Sept. 25 matchup versus Villanova.

The Nittany Lions will host the Wildcats at noon ET on the Big Ten Network, according to a Monday afternoon Big Ten announcement.

Penn State and Villanova haven't competed against each other on a football field since 1951 so this encounter will end a 70-year gap. It's the first half of a two-game series, as the Wildcats will return to Beaver Stadium in September 2025.

“We are excited about the opportunity to get Penn State on the schedule," Villanova head coach Mark Ferrante said when the series was announced in 2018. "Playing two games in one of the best atmospheres in college football will be a great experience for our team. I think the Nova Nation will be excited to make the trip to Happy Valley. This game makes a lot sense for us on a number of levels.”

The Wildcats are 23-18 under Ferrante since 2017, headlined by a 9-4 campaign in 2019 that resulted in an FCS playoff appearance. A football-only member of the Colonial Athletic Association, Villanova is 2-0 in 2021.

The Wildcats beat Bucknell, 55-3, last Saturday, after opening their season with a 47-3 victory at Lehigh. Quarterback Daniel Smith totaled six touchdown tosses during those wins, and he has thrown for nearly 6,000 yards in his Villanova career.

Prior to Ferrante's hiring, the Wildcats qualified for FBS playoff appearances in six of the program's first 10 seasons as a CAA member competitor longtime head coach Andy Talley. Villanova won a national championship in 2009.

The Wildcats defeated nearby FBS opponent Temple in the 2018 season opener. Villanova has not faced a Power Five foe since September 2016, when the program lost at Pittsburgh (28-7).

Villanova is the third of seven teams visiting Beaver Stadium this fall. A blowout win over Ball State was Penn State's first experience in front of a legitimate home crowd since November 2019.

"It was awesome," Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin said on Saturday. "In some ways it was emotional to be honest with you. Thursday night you start seeing the RVs coming into town, which is cool. Friday you felt the electricity in town. Saturday, driving the blue buses from the hotel over to the stadium, and the welcome that we got was unbelievable. It was unbelievable."

This Saturday, No. 10 Penn State and No. 22 Auburn begin action at 7:30 ET. ABC will carry the television broadcast.

Villanova is the final non-conference opponent on PSU's 2021 schedule, followed by eight straight Big Ten games. Next year, the Nittany Lions' non-conference outlook includes home matchups against Ohio (Sept. 10) and Central Michigan (Sept. 24), along with a trip to Auburn (Sept. 17).

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