Amidst all the change for college football, Penn State fans planning to watch the Nittany Lions this season should find things similar to the past few seasons — although that still requires a little flexibility and preparation.
Specifically, distribution for five of the team’s first six games has already been set and those games will be broadcast by five different outlets — Fox Sports 1, ESPN2, Big Ten Network, Fox and NBC. Last year at this time, four games were set on four outlets.
With searchable guides, streaming availability and so much more it’s fairly easy for fans to find games anymore and complaints generally arise only for a streaming-exclusive game on Peacock (still a possibility this season) or, more likely, a noon kickoff for a big game at home (unlikely with USC already set at the White Out).
The wide variety of outlets for games comes with a variety of broadcasters and broadcast quality, though. As the season opener nears, one broadcast partner has a notable change in the booth and the sport’s pregame show of record could change, or not — with either approach making news.
With Penn State’s first game just days away, here’s some context and a brief look at broadcast options, commentators and some notes entering the season.
Pregame Shows
• “BTN Tailgate” — This marks the 10th season for the conference network’s on-site pregame program. Who knew? It’s a nice attempt by BTN that no matter the marketing efforts or quality largely gets ignored by fans. On-site host Camryn Irwin and Tyvis Powell will be at Penn State for the Sept. 19 game vs. Buffalo.
• “Big Noon Kickoff” — With its Big Ten focus, the show knows its job and promotes the noon game and the conference dutifully. With the last two national champions coming from the Big Ten and as a lead-in show to often highly watched games, the show has its moments. It’s bringing back the same on-air team and starts its season with North Texas at defending national champion Indiana.
• “College GameDay” — GameDay remains the pregame show of record, often traveling to the site of one of the biggest games of the week and consistently setting a tone for the day in college football. Generating content for a three-hour show and doing that on location are ongoing challenges but the ESPN team invariably performs well. This season, there are questions about the return of the kick contest funded by Pat McAfee and the show has a new producer because the previous person was promoted to help ESPN prepare for its first Super Bowl in February. In general, the show should feel familiar, but some minor changes are possible. GameDay begins its nationwide tour with Clemson at LSU. Oh, will GameDay visit Happy Valley this year? At this point, the most likely week would be USC-Penn State. That’s appealing and possible but Georgia visits Alabama the same day so the selection should lead to some social media drama as that week nears.
Playoff Perspective
With its friendly schedule (no Indiana, Ohio State or Oregon along with the usual three-game nonconference cakewalk to start things) there’s a chance Penn State could qualify for the College Football Playoff, and the 12-team tournament has changed slightly.
Well, the selection process has changed. Major conference champions (ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, SEC) get automatic berths this season, as does the highest ranked team from the Group of 6 (American, C-USA, MAC, Mountain West, Pac-12, Sun Belt). If it is ranked in the top 12 at selection time, Notre Dame gets a spot as well.
A bigger change shakes up some bowl history. The top three teams will get to choose their destinations after getting a first-round bye. For example, a top-seed Ohio State could choose to go to a location that’s closer to home (maybe the Peach Bowl in Atlanta) or go to a historically significant and traditional location (the Rose Bowl).
Biggest of all, the start time for the Rose Bowl will not be set until CFP seeding is finalized. So, it could be at the typical 5 p.m.-ish time or move into prime time.
In terms of dates, CFP first-round play will begin Dec. 18 (8 p.m., ESPN) with one game and then three games on Dec. 19 (Noon on ABC/ESPN, 3:30 on TNT/truTV/Max and 7:30 p.m. on TNT/truTV/Max).
Quarterfinals will be conducted Dec. 30 at the Fiesta Bowl (7:30 p.m. TNT/truTV/Max) and Jan. 1 in the Cotton Bowl, Rose Bowl and Peach Bowl at noon, 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. — with start times to be announced when seeding is finalized.
Semifinals are set Jan. 14 at the Orange Bowl (7:30 p.m. TNT/truTV/Max) and Jan. 15 at the Sugar Bowl (7:30 p.m. ABC/ESPN) with the championship game scheduled at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 25, 2027, in Las Vegas.
Regarding Ratings
Penn State’s most-watched game in 2025 was the White Out loss to Oregon, which appeared on NBC and drew 8.5 million viewers.
Next up were the Pinstripe Bowl vs. Clemson (7.6 million on ABC) and a noon road trip to play Ohio State (7.19 million on Fox).
Rounding out the list of top-viewed games was the home matchup against Indiana (6.03 million on CBS).
As always, Penn State’s numbers were solid. The program may not be a ratings driver to rival Alabama and Ohio State, but it’s reliable and one of the more ratings-friendly TV programs in the nation.
Scouting the Season
Noon, Fox
Noon conference games draw the best ratings each week because Fox picks the best games for that time slot. Penn State begins the season without a noon game on Fox, but a couple will almost certainly end up there.
That said, Indiana’s resurgence could bounce Penn State in the selection process because the defending national champs have drawn big ratings in the past couple of seasons.
Along the noon, Fox has committed to improving its Friday night ratings and Penn State will appear there with its 8 p.m. visit to Northwestern on Oct. 2. That’s the epitome of Penn State as a TV program. While it will not host Friday night games, it’s a reliable opponent that can draw an audience in such situations.
- Top broadcast team: Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt and Jenny Taft
- Games already set: Sept. 12, Oklahoma at Michigan; Nov. 28 Michigan at Ohio State; Dec. 5, Big Ten Championship
3:30 p.m. CBS
The broadcast booth for CBS has the biggest change of the season with Charles Davis replacing Brad Nessler. Davis comes to the network after most recently covering the NFL for CBS. His college football resume is long and impressive having worked for Fox and covering three consecutive BCS national championship games. My memories of his work might not be as fond as many who are anticipating his return, but we’ll see.
CBS does a solid job each week and Nessler is one of the best in the business. So, the booth and production should be level with the quality of the games it gets, if not better.
The network will have 14 games at 3:30 p.m. this season.
- Top broadcast team: Brad Nessler, Charles Davis and Jenny Dell
- Games already set: Sept. 5, Boise State at Oregon; Sept. 19, USC at Rutgers; Nov. 27, Nebraska at Iowa; Dec. 12, Army vs. Navy
7:30 p.m. NBC
The Big Ten’s weekly primetime slot features the best broadcast team covering the conference and the best production team covering the conference. That should be a treat for Penn State fans, who are to be happy with the White Out again selected to air on NBC. That’s Oct. 10 vs. USC.
All that said, the best part about “Big Ten Saturday Night” is the game itself — once the network hands microphones to Noah Eagle and Todd Blackledge and the top-notch production team that puts them in a position to succeed. Before that, it’s just an “eh” effort. While Joshua Perry is strong in the studio, there are generally too many on-air contributors and moving parts in the studio and on location.
There’s just something about the pace and tone of things that misses for me, but all that’s easy enough to avoid until the game begins. That’s when the viewer-serving magic begins. So, thanks for that.
And, beyond the Big Ten, bigger than the Big Ten for network coffers, this is the 38th consecutive season for Notre Dame games on NBC.
- Top broadcast team: Noah Eagle, Todd Blackledge and Kathryn Tappen
- Games already set: Sept. 5, Western Michigan at Michigan; Sept. 6, Notre Dame at Wisconsin; Sept. 12, Iowa State at Iowa; Sept. 27, Minnesota at Wisconsin
Peacock
The streaming outlet simulcasts “Big Ten Saturday Night” and carries streaming-exclusive games. In recent seasons Penn State has played at Iowa (2025) and at home against Washington (2024) and Delaware (2023) in Peacock-exclusive games.
Along with exclusive games, Peacock streams “Big Ten Saturday Night” and Notre Dame games.
- Games already set: Sept. 19, Eastern Michigan-Washington; Sept. 19, Southern Illinois-Illinois; Sept. 19, Western Kentucky-Indiana
Whenever, BTN
Not every matchup merits a major network slot at noon or in prime time, and that’s the lifeblood of the Big Ten Network during football season.
- Top broadcasters: Jeff Levering, Mark Followill, Jason Horowitz, Chris Vosters, Lisa Byington, Jake Butt, Matt Millen, Ryan Kerrigan
- Games already set: Sept. 5, South Dakota State at Northwestern; Sept. 12, San Diego State at UCLA; Sept. 19, Buffalo at Penn State
Whenever, FS1
It’s not punishment for Penn State games (or any team’s games for that matter) to end up on FS1, but sometimes the production quality just makes it feel that way. So, brace yourself for the game or two that ends up there this season.
- Games already set: Sept. 5, Marshall at Penn State; Sept. 12, North Dakota State at Air Force; Sept. 19, Kansas at Arizona State
Radio, Streaming
Penn State fans are blessed with a top-notch group of radio/streaming broadcasters for the home team. That’s Steve Jones on play-by-play, Jack Ham as analyst and Brian Tripp reporting from the sidelines. It’s an informed and solid team, start to finish.
Their work can be heard on radio stations throughout Pennsylvania and streaming on the Penn State Athletics website or app. In addition, the YouTube feed of just the broadcast booth gets a lot of traffic during games.
If you cannot watch the game, or if the option is a Fox-related outlet, there are a lot of benefits to going old-school, audio-only when it comes to Penn State football.
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