Penn State-Michigan football clash set for primetime kickoff in Beaver Stadium

University Park, Pa. -- Michigan's first visit to Penn State since 2001 will be played in primetime, marking the first time the Big Ten rivals have played each other at night.

ABC will nationally televise the Saturday, Oct. 14 clash at 8 p.m. ET from Beaver Stadium. ABC has televised 10 of the previous 11 meetings, with ESPN carrying the other contest.

The telecast is the second announced TV appearance of the 2006 season for the Nittany Lions, who have appeared on television 138 of their last 140 games. Penn State's Saturday, Sept. 9 game at Notre Dame will kick at 3:30 ET and be nationally televised by NBC. All of Penn State's games during the past two seasons have been televised.

Future Penn State contests may be selected by the networks under the six and 12-day provisions of their contracts with the Big Ten.

The Nittany Lions and Wolverines will be meeting in Happy Valley for the first time in five years. In 2002, the teams played an overtime game in Ann Arbor. Michigan was off Penn State's schedule in 2003 and '04 as part of the Big Ten's two-year rotation of opponents. When a new rotation began last year, the Nittany Lions traveled to Ann Arbor, losing 27-25 on a touchdown on the last play of the game. The contest was Penn State's only setback of the 2005 season, as it went 11-1 and captured the Big Ten and FedEx Orange Bowl titles.

The ABC Saturday Night College Football announce team will include Brent Musburger, Bob Davie, Kirk Herbstreit and sideline reporter Lisa Salters, a Penn State graduate who was a member of the Lady Lion basketball team. Salters is a reporter for ABC and ESPN and can be seen on ABC's NBA Playoff telecasts.

Penn State will be playing at least one regular season night game for the seventh consecutive season. The Lions' last eight night games over the past six seasons: Florida State (Orange Bowl) and Ohio State (2005), Minnesota and Boston College (2004), Nebraska (2002 and '03), Miami, Fla. (2001) and Indiana (2000).

The Nittany Lions' last home night game was October 8, 2005, as Penn State captured a 17-10 thriller over Ohio State in front of an electric crowd of 109,839 and a huge ESPN audience. More than 4.4 million viewers tuned in and the game earned a 4.91 cumulative rating, delivering the second largest audience ever for a regular season college football game on ESPN.

ESPN's College Gameday originated from Penn State for the OSU game and the atmosphere left a resounding impression on Gameday crew Chris Fowler, Lee Corso and Herbstreit.

"That's probably the best student section I've ever seen," stated Herbstreit of the more than 20,000 Penn State students who stepped up for the enthusiastic "Whiteout" of the Buckeyes.

SportsIlustrated.com called a Penn State home football weekend, "The Greatest Show in College Sports" during the 2005 season.

Entering his 41st season as head coach, Joe Paterno's squad returns 35 lettermen and 11 starters from last year's No. 3 ranked squad. The Nittany Lions open the season Sept. 2, hosting Akron, the 2005 Mid-American Conference champion, in Beaver Stadium.

Season tickets are available for the Nittany Lions' seven home games. For information on 2006 football tickets, call 800-833-5533 or 814-863-1000.