Ohio State and Penn State have turned into quite the game over the years, but of course, the Buckeyes always came out on top. Well, things will look a little different this season as James Franklin will not be on the opposing sideline after being fired over a week ago.
However, it seems there is one thing that hasn't changed this year, and it is the kickoff time for this matchup. It has officially been announced that the kickoff time for Ohio State vs. Penn State will be Noon on November 1 on Fox as the Big Noon Kickoff game that week.
𝙆𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙤𝙛𝙛 𝙫𝙨 𝙋𝙚𝙣𝙣 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙚𝙩 ⏰ pic.twitter.com/6XqORbykQE
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) October 20, 2025
This honestly doesn't come as a huge surprise, especially with Penn State now riding a four-game losing streak after falling to Iowa by just one point in the first game of the post-James Franklin era. The Nittany Lions were also without quarterback Drew Allar, who suffered an injury against Northwestern that has taken him out for the rest of the season.
Right now, Penn State is 3-4 on the season and 0-4 in Big Ten play heading into their bye week this week. So the next time the Nittany Lions hit the field will be against Ohio State.
Even though Penn State is really not looking good right now and will probably be fighting just to be bowl-eligible at this point, a Noon kickoff still doesn't seem right. Maybe this game isn't prime time worthy, but a mid-day kickoff would have worked just fine. This game is being played at Ohio State, so the fans would have enjoyed a night or mid-day game, especially after being robbed of it earlier this season.
Ohio State faced off against then No. 1-ranked Texas at the beginning of the season and also had a Noon kickoff, which just seemed totally wrong. Ohio State shouldn't be the ones punished for Penn State being bad this season.