Penn State football | Lions' season finale against Michigan State to be played at night on Black Friday at Ford Field in Detroit

STATE COLLEGE – Penn State’s regular-season finale against Michigan State will now be played at Ford Field in Detroit on Black Friday (Nov. 24), both schools announced on Wednesday. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., and the contest will be televised on NBC.

The announcement comes days after a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel suggested the Nittany Lions-Spartans matchup, previously scheduled for Nov. 25, would be changed.

“The decision to move a home game out of Spartan Stadium was given careful consideration, as we understand the impact it will have on some fans,” Michigan State Vice President and Director of Athletics Alan Haller said, in part, in a statement.

“As a community partner, we recognize home football brings benefits to the entire Mid-Michigan area. The fact that this game falls on a holiday weekend, Friday, increased our willingness to make the move.”

According to a release from Michigan State, Big Ten officials reached out to the Spartans about “moving the final game of the regular season to a national television window on Friday night, and the potential of moving the contest from Spartan Stadium to Ford Field.”

The Nittany Lions defeated the Spartans, 35-16, in State College last season. Penn State’s last visit to East Lansing came in 2021.

Penn State now has two games scheduled for NBC’s 7:30 p.m. primetime slot. The Nittany Lions open the 2023 season at home on Sept. 2 against West Virginia.

{em style=”color: #000000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;”}Elton Hayes is a veteran sports writer who covers Penn State for CNHI LLC publications. Contact him at ehayes@cnhi.com or follow him on Twitter @EHDC12.