Penn State-Iowa: Start time, channel, how to watch and stream

Nittany Lions fans will be decked out in all white Saturday night, when No. 7 Penn State takes on No. 24 Iowa in a Big Ten battle at Beaver Stadium.

Penn State head coach James Franklin told reporters he expects it to be a “zoo” on Saturday, with the annual “White Out” game getting beamed out to a national audience on CBS, which is broadcasting its first game from Beaver Stadium since 1990.

“It’s an opportunity to showcase the entire university as a whole,” Franklin said.

That showcase might be a bit soggy. Tropical Storm Ophelia is forecast to drop between 2-4 inches of rain across the region, with the heaviest downpours expected east of I-99. Rain is expected to begin after 1 p.m. Saturday and continue through Sunday, or as the National Weather Service in State College put it, “Rain likely, then rain.”

The weather will share the spotlight with Penn State quarterback Drew Allar, who is facing a ranked opponent for the first time since becoming the Nittany Lions’ starter this season. Allar has been solid this year through three games, winning the respect of coaches and teammates for his even approach to each game.

“That guy’s got a lot of poise,” tight end Theo Johnson said of Allar. “He never gets super high, super low; he does a really good job of that. I think that’s probably something that he’s beyond his years in.”

Here’s everything you need to know to watch or stream the Penn State-Iowa matchup:

Saturday’s Penn State-Iowa game will air on CBS in primetime at 7:30 p.m. Eastern.

Calling the game on CBS are Brad Nessler and Gary Danielson, with Jenny Dell reporting from the sidelines at Beaver Stadium.

Nessler and Danielson have been the network’s lead SEC announcers since 2017 (when Nessler replaced Verne Lundquist), and CBS also is airing Alabama vs. Ole Miss on Saturday. It’s the first time since 2009 that Danielson won’t be in the booth while CBS is broadcasting an Alabama football game.

So why did CBS go with Nessler and Danielson for the Nittany Lions? The network declined to comment, but a likely factor is CBS next season will broadcast Big Ten football games as part of a new seven-year, $8 billion deal that also will include games on NBC and Fox. SEC games will move over to ESPN and ABC in 2024.

College football fans in the Philadelphia area will hear a couple of familiar voices calling Alabama-Ole Miss. On play-by-play will be Tom McCarthy, the voice of the Phillies, who is in his 14th season calling games on CBS. Alongside him will be Ross Tucker, who calls Eagles preseason games on NBC10 and might’ve been Angelo Cataldi’s replacement on 94.1 WIP had he not lived in Reading.

You also also tune into 1210 WPHT. Calling the game on the radio will be longtime play-by-play announcer Steve Jones, joined by NFL Hall of Famer and former Nittany Lions linebacker Jack Ham.

» READ MORE: Drew Allar’s poise in the pocket has been a ‘powerful trait’ fueling Penn State’s success

Penn State-Iowa will stream on Paramount+, CBS’s subscription service.

The game also will stream on any so-called skinny bundle that carries CBS, including fuboTV, YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, and DirecTV Stream. Most offer a free trial.

If you’re looking to stream the game for free and you live in or around Philadelphia, your best option is using a digital antenna, since the game will air on broadcast television on CBS3.

Tonight’s game will be a “White Out” at Beaver Stadium, meaning over 110,000 fans in the stands will be decked out in all white.

The tradition dates back to 2004, when Penn State’s then-director of branding and communications Guido D’Elia came up with with a campaign to fire up students after several lackluster seasons in the early 2000s. What started in the student section grew to include all fans in 2007, when everyone in Beaver Stadium donned white during Penn State’s 31-10 win against Notre Dame.

Since then, Penn State has hosted a White Out game every season except 2020, which was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the most memorable was in 2016, when Penn State upset No. 2 Ohio State in Franklin’s first win against a ranked opponent.

Temple will take on No. 20 Miami in front of a national audience Saturday on ESPN2, and the Owls are looking to end a 13-game losing streak against the Hurricanes that goes back 93 years. The last time Temple defeated Miami was way back in 1930.

» READ MORE: Villanova ready for ‘good barometer’; Temple looks to make football history