Penn State is upping its strength of schedule ... come 2021.
The Nittany Lions announced a home-and-home series with Auburn on Monday, with games slated for the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Penn State will play host to Auburn on Sept. 18, 2021, and then travel to take on the Tigers on Sept. 17, 2022.
Not only will these games be the first regular-season meetings between the two schools, they will be the first two regular-season games Auburn has ever played against a Big Ten opponent.
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Penn State has played Auburn twice in bowl games, winning the 1996 Outback Bowl and losing the 2003 Capital One Bowl.
"We are thrilled to be adding Auburn to our future football schedules," Penn State athletics director Sandy Barbour said in the announcement. "This is a great intersectional matchup, and there will be significant interest from alumni, fans and students of both schools to be a part of the electric atmospheres on both campuses. I am very appreciative of (Auburn athletics director) Jay Jacobs’ interest and efforts in making this home-and-home series a reality."
The Lions also announced Monday future non-conference games with Ball State and Buffalo for the 2019 and 2021 seasons, respectively.
Penn State's non-conference schedule could use a shot in the arm following the conclusion of the current decade. The highlight of the next four seasons' slates is an annual meeting with in-state rival Pittsburgh, not a bad team by any stretch but not a team such as the attention-grabbing Auburn, which is just two seasons removed from an appearance in the national championship game. The Lions also have future non-conference series scheduled with Virginia Tech and West Virginia.
Big Ten
The future games also provide a Big Ten-SEC matchup fans and observers always seem to crave, particularly when played between two higher-caliber programs. There are only 10 other regular-season meetings between Big Ten and SEC teams currently scheduled: this season's opener between Wisconsin and LSU, a Michigan-Florida tilt in 2017, a 2017-2018 series between Purdue and Missouri, a 2018-2019 series between Michigan and Arkansas, a 2019 game between Purdue and Vanderbilt, a home-and-home between Nebraska and Tennessee in 2026 and 2027 and another Purdue-Vanderbilt showdown all the way in 2029.