Penn State’s James Franklin could see Pitt back on Lions' schedule, but there’s a catch

Penn State’s 2025 nonconference schedule is, well, non-threatening.

James Franklin’s Nittany Lions open their season with home games against Nevada (Aug. 30), Florida International (Sept. 6) and Villanova (Sept. 13).

Big Ten teams all play nine conference games. Not all major conferences do.

The SEC doesn’t, and neither does the ACC, where Pat Narduzzi’s Pitt Panthers reside.

That is a problem for Franklin, now in his 12th season leading the Lions program.

Franklin was asked about nonconference scheduling, and specifically about Pitt returning to Penn State’s schedule, during his appearance at Big Ten Media Days last week in Las Vegas.

It could happen, according to Franklin. But there would have to be uniformity in nonconference scheduling.

“I love out-of-conference scheduling discussions,” Franklin said.

“I’d be all about a discussion about Pitt. We have played Pitt nonconference, we have played West Virginia nonconference, we played Auburn nonconference and had success.

“The good thing is, we all have the ability to build our programs the way we see best.”

Penn State swept a home-and-home series with Auburn in 2021-22 and did the same to West Virginia in 2023-24.

The Lions last tangled with the Panthers during a four-season stretch from 2016 through 2019, with PSU winning three of the four matchups.

Before that, the Penn State-Pitt matchup was one of the sport’s most anticipated games before it came to an end in 2000. The Lions and Panthers have played 101 times.

What is standing in the way of a Penn State-Pitt series resumption in the age of a college football playoff?

“The thing that I struggle with is the same thing I’ve been talking about for a long time. This doesn’t change,” Franklin said. “Everybody has to play the same number of conference games. Like, this ain’t that hard, right? Everybody should be playing eight, or everybody should be playing nine.”

Franklin added: “When you try to compare a nonconference schedule from a conference that plays eight, compared to a conference that plays nine, it’s going to look different. We (the Big Ten) already have another power conference team on our schedule. … You’re not comparing the same things. It’s not going to look the same. We’re already playing nine conference games. Where does it make sense?”