Penn St. homecoming vs. Northwestern to start at noon

Penn State says that its football team's homecoming game against Northwestern on Oct. 6 will kick off at noon.

The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network, ESPN or ESPN2. An announcement on the network doesn't have to be made until 12 days before the game.

This is the third start time announced for the 2012 season, the Nittany Lions' first under new head coach Bill O'Brien. Penn State's Oct. 20 game at Iowa will start at 8 p.m. on the Big Ten Network, while its Oct. 27 game against Ohio State kicks off at 6 p.m. at Beaver Stadium on ESPN2.

Kickoff times for the Lions' first two home games -- Sept. 1 vs. Ohio and Sept. 15 against Navy -- should be announced by June 15, the athletic department said.

Northwestern, which will rotate off the Penn State schedule next year, has been on the opposite of two milestone victories for Joe Paterno the last two years. The Wildcats lost two years ago at Beaver Stadium in what was Paterno's 400th career victory, and last year's defeat at the hands of the Nittany Lions enabled Paterno to tie the record for most wins in Division I, at 408.