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As first reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and confirmed by the Penn State athletic department, the Nittany Lions and the Georgia State Panthers are slated to meet for the first time on September 16, 2017 in Beaver Stadium, moving Penn State's 2017 against Pittsburgh back one week to September 9th.
The Panthers, who will be playing only their fifth season of college football in 2014, are a member of the Sun Belt conference. They spent their first three seasons as a team in FCS play before moving to the FBS level last season, going 0-12 in their debut campaign. The making of the matchup between the schools was in no doubt helped by the two teams hosting a high school camp together this summer, something that got under the skin of many SEC coaches.
The 2017 non-conference schedule is now complete as it includes the Pitt and GSU games as well as a tilt with Akron.
Also included in the Penn State press release, a 2018 game between the Nits and their recent old friends, the Kent State Golden Flashes, on September 15th of that year. The two teams met this past season which resulted in a 34-0 victory for the good guys from Happy Valley. Penn State and Kent State also have a future matchup scheduled for the 2016 season.
The Lions have one more non-conference game to schedule for 2018. In addition to the game announced today, the team also travels to Pittsburgh for a game.
