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

No. 9 Penn State (8-1) will take on No. 2 Michigan (9-0) Saturday as the Nittany Lions attempt to keep their slim College Football Playoff hopes alive.

The stakes today are pretty simple — a win against the undefeated Wolverines keeps them in the hunt of a playoff spot, while a loss would all but eliminate their playoff hopes and deal a blow to their chances of landing a New Year’s Six bowl game.

Of course, Michigan is dealing with the distraction of a sign-stealing controversy being investigated by the NCAA and the Big Ten. On Friday, the Big Ten suspended head coach Jim Harbaugh for the rest of the regular season over the allegations, which involve ticket purchases at several Big Ten stadiums over the past three seasons as part of an unauthorized scouting and sign-stealing scheme.

Harbaugh served a three-game suspension earlier this season over allegations of recruiting violations.

Penn State could certainly use all the help it can get against Michigan, who put up 41 points against the Nittany Lions in a blowout loss in Ann Arbor last season. Penn State is just 1-12 against Top 10 opponents since 2016, having defeated No. 10 Utah in last year’s Rose Bowl, and having lost six of their last nine games against Michigan.

“It’s going to be a big-boy game, I don’t think there’s any doubt about that,” Penn State head coach James Franklin told reporters earlier this week. “It’ll be an interesting chess match for four quarters. It’s going to be a physical game.”

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

Saturday’s Penn State-Michigan game will air at noon on Fox.

Calling the game will be Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt. Jenny Taft will report from the sidelines at Beaver Stadium.

You can 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.

Penn State-Michigan will stream on the Fox Sports app, though you’ll need a cable subscription.

The game also will stream on any so-called skinny bundle that carries NBC, 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 Fox 29.

Despite their loss to Ohio State, the Nittany Lions still have a shot at landing a College Football Playoff berth, but those slim hopes begin with an upset against the Wolverines Saturday afternoon in Happy Valley.

With a win, Penn State would potentially thrust themselves into a three-way tie atop the Big Ten East if Michigan goes on to defeat Ohio State on Nov. 25. Writing for The Inquirer, the Dally Collegian’s Seth Engle explains how Penn State could prevail in the tiebreakers:

This is the final season before the playoff format expands to 12 teams, so it’s head coach James Franklin’s final crack at landing a College Football Playoff berth in its current four-team format.

» READ MORE: Here’s what a win (or a loss) against No. 2 Michigan could mean for No. 9 Penn State

Penn State-Michigan is this year’s “Stripe Out” game, an annual tradition that began at Beaver Stadium in 2015, when fans wore alternating blue and white colors based on the section they sat in, creating a striped effect in the stands.

If you have tickets to the game, the school has an official Stripe Out guide, where you can punch in your ticket location to figure out which colors to wear.

Historically, Penn State is 5-2 in the Stripe Out game, including last year’s fourth-quarter collapse against Ohio State. There was no Stripe Out game in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

» READ MORE: What did Temple learn in a win over Navy? Coach Stan Drayton will find out against South Florida.