UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (EYT) – Penn State announced Monday it will play a home-and-home series vs. Auburn in football in 2021 and 2022.
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The teams, who have never met in the regular season, will play at Penn State’s Beaver Stadium Spet. 18, 2021, and then will face off against each other at Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium Sept. 17, 2022.
“We are thrilled to be adding Auburn to our future football schedules,” Penn State Director of Athletics Sandy Barbour said in a release put out by the university. “This is a great intersectional match-up 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 Jay Jacobs’ interest and efforts in making this home-and-home series a reality.”
Penn State, which will have a full compliment of scholarships this season for the first time since 2011, is coming off a 7-6 season, its third straight seven-win campaign.
Auburn was 7-6 in 2015 after going 8-5 in 2014. The Tigers won the National Championship in 2010 and also posted a 12-2 mark in 2013.
“This is another great opportunity for our players and fans to be part of something special,” Auburn Director of Athletics Jay Jacobs said in a university release. “Bringing together elite programs rich in tradition is what college football is all about. We look forward to this home-and-home series with Penn State.”
Penn State and Auburn have met twice in bowl games with Penn State coming out on top, 43-14, in the 1996 Outback Bowl and Auburn winning, 13-9, in the 2003 Outback Bowl.
In addition to adding Auburn, Penn State also announced Monday it will host Buffalo Sept. 7, 2019, and Ball State Sept. 11, 2021. It will the fourth time the Nittany Lions have faced Buffalo and the first time they will play Ball State.
The addition of Buffalo completes the 2019 schedule for Penn State. (See Penn State’s 2017-19 football schedules)
The 2021 and 2022 Auburn games add another marquee opponent to the Nittany Lions’ upcoming non-conference schedules:
Penn State begins a four-game home-and-home series with Pitt this year (2016-19), with the first game Sept. 10 at Heinz Field. The Nittany Lions will host the Panthers in 2017 and 2019.
In 2020 (away) and 2025 (home), Penn State and Virginia Tech will meet for the first time, and in 2023 (home) and 2024 (away), Penn State and West Virginia will clash for the first time since 1992.
“We are excited that our fans will be able to see Auburn, Pitt, West Virginia and Virginia Tech in Beaver Stadium in upcoming seasons, in addition to our challenging Big Ten schedule,” Barbour said. “We are also looking forward to hosting quality MAC opponents with Buffalo and Ball State in future seasons.”
Penn State is 23-22-0 all-time against current Southeastern Conference schools, having played every SEC team except Arkansas, Mississippi and Mississippi State. The Nittany Lions’ most recent meeting with an SEC squad was against Georgia in the 2016 TaxSlayer Bowl; the most recent regular season contest was against Alabama in 2011 in Beaver Stadium.
The Nittany Lions vs. SEC teams overall: Alabama (5-10), Auburn (1-1), Florida (0-3), Georgia (1-1), Kentucky (3-2), LSU (2-0), Missouri (3-1), South Carolina (2-0), Tennessee (3-2), Texas A&M (3-1) and Vanderbilt (0-1).
Penn State has a 23-3 all-time mark against current Mid-American Conference members, having played every MAC school except Ball State, Miami (Ohio) and Western Michigan. The Nittany Lions’ first contest against a MAC squad was at 10-0 loss at Buffalo in 1900. The teams also met in 2007 and last year, a 27-14 Penn State victory, which is the Nittany Lions’ most recent game against a MAC team.
Penn State opens the 2016 campaign against Kent State at Beaver Stadium on Saturday, September 3.
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