Delaware to play Penn State for first time in football in 2023, 2027

Kevin Tresolini | The News Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Delaware-Rhode Island football Need-to-knows Sizing up Thursday's opening night football game between Delaware and CAA rival Rhode Island.

The University of Delaware will play Penn State in football in 2023 and 2027 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania, the two schools announced Thursday.

They will be the first meetings on the football field between two of the Northeast’s long-established winning programs – the Blue Hens of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision and Penn State of the Football Bowl Subdivision.

The Delaware-Penn State matchups were first reported by The News Journal in May.

Delaware has won six national championships — via wire-service votes for small colleges in 1946, 1963 and 1971 and 1972 and through NCAA playoffs in Division II in 1979 and Division I-AA (now FCS) in 2003.

Penn State won consensus wire-service national titles in 1982 and 1986.

The Big Ten had banned its members from playing non-FBS schools in 2015, then changed the rule in 2017. Big Ten schools, which play nine league games each year, may now play FCS foes the years in which they have four home and five away Big Ten matchups.

Villanova, Delaware’s Colonial Athletic Association rival, will visit Penn State in 2021 and 2025. Villanova has played Penn State, but not since 1951.

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It’ll be a huge challenge for the Blue Hens. Delaware has not defeated an FBS team since a 59-52 victory at Navy in 2007 in which Joe Flacco passed for 434 yards, third most in UD history.

Since then, Delaware has lost at FBS Maryland 14-7 in 2008, Navy 35-18 in 2009, Navy 40-17 in 2011, Navy 51-7 in 2013, Pitt 62-0 in 2014, North Carolina 41-14 in 2015, Wake Forest 38-21 in 2016 and Virginia Tech 27-0 last season.

Delaware does not play an FBS foe this year but goes back to Pitt in 2019 and travels to North Carolina State in 2020.

Visits to FBS opponents from power-five leagues typically net about a $500,000 guaranteed payment for the visiting school. It isn’t known what Delaware will receive at Penn State.

Players often relish the opportunity to go against higher-level opposition especially in familiar areas at well-known, packed stadiums.

As a result, the games at Penn State should serve as a valuable recruiting tool for Delaware, which gets many of its players from Pennsylvania. Second-year UD coach Danny Rocco played his first two college seasons at Penn State, his father, Frank, was a longtime Penn State football staffer, and his brother, Frank Jr., was a Nittany Lions quarterback.

Delaware's 2018 roster has three Penn State transfers — linebacker Troy Reeder, offensive lineman Noah Beh and running back Andre Robinson — and 31 players from Pennsylvania.

Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @kevintresolini.