There’s been no shortage of Penn State news this weekend, the latest of which has been a long time coming.
An announcement Sunday confirmed what’s been speculated for the past couple of months: the Nittany Lions will play UCF in Dublin, Ireland for the 2014 season opener. The game will be held in Croke Park in central Dublin and will kickoff at 8:30 a.m. ET. The announcement was made Sunday during the GAA Leinster Football Finals at Croke Park with members from both universities present.
PSU’s previously scheduled game against Temple will be moved to Nov. 15.
Penn State coach Bill O’Brien has been vocal about finding different ways to give his team a bowl-like atmosphere in the wake of the postseason ban handed down by the NCAA. A report surfaced Friday that O’Brien and Penn State may also be preparing to ask the NCAA to modify the sanctions levied against the program.
“We are thrilled to announce that we will play UCF at Croke Park to open the 2014 season,” said O’Brien in a statement. “Our players and coaches are so excited to go to Ireland and play a college football game in such a historic and outstanding venue. I have great respect for Coach [George] O’Leary and his team and playing UCF in Ireland will be a fantastic experience for all the players, coaches and fans.”
Penn State is the first Big Ten school to play internationally since Michigan State and Wisconsin met in Tokyo in the early 1990’s. However, this will be the first time PSU and UCF have ever played a game outside the United States.