Less than eight months before the 2013 season kicks off, Penn State has officially found itself with a hole in its schedule -- for now.
In a release, Virginia confirmed that it has scheduled a home-and-home series with Oregon. The first game will be played Sept. 7, 2013, in Charlottesville, with the Cavaliers traveling to Eugene in 2016. The date for the latter game has yet to be set.
The Cavaliers had been scheduled to play the Nittany Lions the third weekend of the 2013 season. PSU athletic director Tom Joyner said in a statement that the UVa. “notified Penn State that it would not be playing the Sept. 14, 2013 game scheduled for Beaver Stadium in order to play a home game on that date.”
Joyner’s UVa. counterpart, Jon Oliver, said that conversations with UO officials had initially centered on a 2017 game in Europe. Those talks evolved into an agreement on the home-and-home series that was announced this afternoon.
“As the conversation progressed, it became clear we might have an opportunity to initiate a series in 2013 starting in Charlottesville,” Oliver’s statement read. “We saw that as a great opportunity for our program and our fans.
“The chance to add Oregon presents us with the unique opportunity to have eight home games in a single season. Kicking off the season against BYU on Aug. 31 and playing Oregon on Sept. 7 will be a challenge, but one that Coach London has been on board with since the very beginning. I am hopeful that our fans will embrace this schedule and create a home field advantage to help make our team successful.”
Both Penn State and Virginia stated that they are working on rescheduling the canceled 2013 game for some point in the future.
“It’s our desire to reschedule the game at Penn State in the future and we’re hopeful we can come to an agreement as to when that will happen soon,” Oliver said.
As for a short-notice replacement on Penn State’s schedule, Joyner said in his statement that "[w]e have begun discussions to find an opponent for the Sept. 14 date and expect to make that announcement very soon.”
The Orlando Sentinel reported late last week that PSU and UCF have reached an agreement on a two-game series beginning in 2013, with the Knights replacing the Cavaliers on the Nittany Lions’ slate.