When will Penn State hold its Whiteout game? 3 possible options (2024)

With back-to-back blowouts in the Whiteout over the past two years, Penn State fans have started to grow restless with the impact massive media rights deals have had on college football’s annual scheduling. But an expanded Big Ten isn’t making things easier in 2024.

Penn State has just three officially announced kickoff times for this fall, meaning there’s likely still some time before home game themes are decided and released. It’s already a later announcement than the past two years, which came on May 15 in 2023 and June 1 in 2022.

FOX, NBC and CBS are jockeying for primetime position with the Big Ten (which now includes 18 teams, as a reminder) and its biggest games. The addition of those former Pac-12 teams on the west coast would seemingly affect start times here and there, too, on top of the typical battle for kickoff slots.

Action Network’s Brett McMurphy reported a preliminary list of NBC’s “preferred” primetime games this fall, including Penn State’s home game against Illinois but not the Nittany Lions’ biggest matchup with Ohio State. McMurphy reported NBC preferred USC at Washington on Nov. 2, which could give way to FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff snagging the Ohio State game after it already poached the season opener at West Virginia.

In May 2022, Penn State Athletics actually went to fans on social media to ask what mattered most when deciding which game received the White Out treatment: opponent, point in the season, day game or night game. In 5,017 votes, 68% of fans voted in support of a night game, winning out over the 29% who chose opponent.

But then Penn State throttled Whiteout opponent Minnesota under the lights, 45-17, before falling 44-31 the following week against Ohio State, a noon kickoff. This past season, the Nittany Lions punished Iowa 31-0 — again under the lights — before a noon kickoff with Michigan and a 24-15 loss sealed Penn State’s playoff chances.

So what matters most now, heading into a pivotal season in Happy Valley? Let’s dive into some 2024 Whiteout options.

Illinois

A Sept. 28 Whiteout against the Fighting Illini — announced to be a 3:30, 4 or 7:30 p.m. kickoff — would follow the same formula as the past two seasons: a potential night game against an opponent Penn State should be favored over by multiple scores.

Winning is good for business, regardless of the relative importance of the game. If 110,000 fans buy tickets and buy into a raucous, monochromatic environment, they’ll want to be rewarded with a win. And there are sure to be some angsty Penn State fans in the stands who vividly remember a painful nine-overtime loss to the Fighting Illini in 2021. Not to mention both that game and this fall’s impending matchup fell on Penn State Homecoming, adding some extra incentive for a large crowd.

Washington

Penn State shook things up in 2021, gifting the Whiteout to a unique opponent in Auburn. It worked that time, leading to a thrilling 28-20 win, so why not welcome a previously uncommon opponent — one who went to the national championship a season ago —to the Big Ten with a Whiteout? Penn State and Washington haven’t squared off since the Nittany Lions won the 2017 Fiesta Bowl behind Saquon Barkley and Trace McSorley.

It’s important to understand that the 2024 version of Washington will be starkly different from 2023′s national runner up. Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. is off to the NFL (perhaps a blessing for Penn State fans) alongside a huge number of playmakers, while former coach Kalen DeBoer has since succeeded Nick Saban at Alabama. But it’s also hard to imagine a stark fall off from a program that has won 10-plus games in five of the last eight seasons.

If this game, set for Nov. 9, received Whiteout treatment, it may depend on its start time. If both Illinois and Ohio State end up as afternoon kickoffs and Washington sneaks into a night game, it would appear to be an easy choice, satisfying both kick time and opponent qualifiers. But the Big Ten has been historically hesitant to schedule November night games.

Ohio State

That November night game obstacle could come into play again for the Nov. 2 tilt with Ohio State, a game that has kicked at noon in two straight seasons. As one of the most important games in the 2024 college football slate, Penn State-Ohio State will be a priority for whichever network broadcasts it.

If this game winds up in a primetime slot, you can automatically book it as the Whiteout. But will the past two years’ clunkers against Minnesota and Iowa warrant a major philosophy change in Penn State’s marketing?

Penn State is light on serious options for the 2024 Whiteout, as it plays a somewhat easier home schedule and has kickoff times largely up in the air. The Whiteout tends to look much better aesthetically with a nighttime backdrop, but Penn State hasn’t beaten Ohio State since 2016, and a win this season could be the difference in the Nittany Lions’ first-ever College Football Playoff berth, a first-round playoff bye or even a home playoff game. Why not use your greatest off-the-field advantage to get over the hump, regardless of start time?