Your in-person 2023 college football schedule

[CHIP72]

It's time for my annual thread asking everyone which games people planned to attend this upcoming season across all college football divisions, obviously including Division II.

Here's my personal, planned schedule (all times Eastern):

DEFINITE/LIKELY GAMES
09/09 (Sat): Temple at Rutgers, 7:30 PM
09/16 (Sat): Georgia Southern at Wisconsin, 12:00 PM
10/28 (Sat): Lafayette at Georgetown, 12:30 PM

ONE (POSSIBLY TWO) OF THE FOLLOWING GAMES
09/23 (Sat): Miami (FL) at Temple, time TBA
10/07 (Sat): Texas-San Antonio at Temple, time TBA
11/25 (Sat): Memphis at Temple, time TBA

Miami/Temple is the most likely game, especially if I visit family at Thanksgiving. (If I visit the weekend before Thanksgiving, Memphis/Temple becomes a stronger possibility.) The college basketball schedule for various teams I follow will probably dictate the weekend of the visit. UTSA/Temple is a possibility if the Orioles and/or Phillies DON'T host LDS games that day (Orioles good chance to host game, Phillies very slim chance to host game).

OTHER POSSIBLE GAMES
11/04 (Sat): Navy at Temple, time TBA (strong possibility if game starts at 3:30/4 PM ET, shortly after Suns/76ers NBA game at 1 PM ends)
11/04 (Sat): East Stroudsburg at Shepherd, 12:00 PM (unlikely, will probably attend Suns/76ers NBA game instead)
11/18 (Sat): Lafayette at Lehigh, 12:00 PM (strong possibility if I visit the family this weekend rather than during Thanksgiving)
11/18 (Sat): Villanova at Delaware, 1:00 PM (unlikely but possible if I don't visit the family this weekend)

In addition to games listed above, select D2 and/or DI-AA/FCS playoff games involving teams I follow that take place near the DC area (on 11/18, 11/25, or 12/9) are also possibilities.

Finally, I plan to attend two Philadelphia Eagles games NFL games for sure this fall (10/29 at Washington, 12/31 vs Arizona) and I could add a third game (12/17 at Seattle) depending on how the Eagles' and other various teams' seasons play themselves out.

I'm not thrilled about it, but I probably won't see Bloomsburg, East Stroudsburg, or IUP (barring seeing them at Shepherd in the playoffs) in person this season - their schedules just didn't work out for me. (East Stroudsburg/Shepherd was on the docket until the NBA announced the schedule last week, and I didn't want to see the Kutztown/Bloomsburg game in the same location for the second time in three years.)

[IUP24]

I am a Pitt season ticket holder, so that occupies most weekends, but I think I have a nice schedule overall.

8/31 - Ashland at IUP
9/2 - Wofford at Pitt
9/9 - Cincinnati at Pitt
9/10 - 49ers at Steelers
9/16 - Pitt at West Virginia (As a Pitt fan, I vowed to never go to that hellhole. But... My friend had a party bus with 18 people going down and a spot opened up. Tentatively, I'm going. Somebody, for the love of God, please tell me not to do this.)
9/23 - UNC at Pitt
10/7 - TCU at Iowa State (I do a bunch of traveling to Des Moines for work. Ames is about 45 minutes away. This worked out nicely.)
10/14 - Louisville at Pitt
10/21 - Penn State at Ohio State
10/28 - Pitt at Notre Dame (This will be my 2nd trip to South Bend. If you've never been, do it. It's worth every penny. And your opinion on Notre Dame and their fans will change after being on campus for about 5 minutes. People going to games in South Bend aren't the jabronis you run into at your local watering hole who show up with an Irish hat.)
11/4 - Florida State at Pitt

I'm hoping there's an IUP playoff game in November to add to this schedule. I had original plans to go to the IUP game at SRU on 9/30, but that won't work out for my schedule.

[The P in IUP]

9/16 - Pitt at West Virginia (As a Pitt fan, I vowed to never go to that hellhole. But... My friend had a party bus with 18 people going down and a spot opened up. Tentatively, I'm going. Somebody, for the love of God, please tell me not to do this.)

The Neal Brown era has sucked the life out of WVU and its fans, you'll be fine just skip the visit to downtown Morgantown after the game. I'd recommend stopping at Black Bear Burritos or Mario's Fish bowl pre-game. Not too bad a walk from the stadium. Pitt will likely have a much higher percentage of the crowd this year than back in the days of the Big East.

[IUP24]

9/16 - Pitt at West Virginia (As a Pitt fan, I vowed to never go to that hellhole. But... My friend had a party bus with 18 people going down and a spot opened up. Tentatively, I'm going. Somebody, for the love of God, please tell me not to do this.)

The Neal Brown era has sucked the life out of WVU and its fans, you'll be fine just skip the visit to downtown Morgantown after the game. I'd recommend stopping at Black Bear Burritos or Mario's Fish bowl pre-game. Not too bad a walk from the stadium. Pitt will likely have a much higher percentage of the crowd this year than back in the days of the Big East.

I'm not sure it has sucked the life out of the rivalry though. That was an ugly scene in Pittsburgh last year. It's great to have it back. When you see some of the behavior that happens at those games though, sometimes it makes you appreciate just watching a game at home. My dad went to Morgantown one time when Marino was the quarterback. Said he'd never go back and the experience was that terrible. Told me though, "Go. Have a good time. You should experience it once." That's what everyone seems to be telling me.

Pitt, Penn State, and WVU should all 3 play each other every year. Each of those 3 schools need each other. All in conferences without an actual legitimate rivalry.

I think WVU has the potential to be really bad this year though. So if there was a year to go, I suppose it would be this one.

[Fightingscot82]

I'm not sure it has sucked the life out of the rivalry though. That was an ugly scene in Pittsburgh last year. It's great to have it back. When you see some of the behavior that happens at those games though, sometimes it makes you appreciate just watching a game at home. My dad went to Morgantown one time when Marino was the quarterback. Said he'd never go back and the experience was that terrible. Told me though, "Go. Have a good time. You should experience it once." That's what everyone seems to be telling me.

Pitt, Penn State, and WVU should all 3 play each other every year. Each of those 3 schools need each other. All in conferences without an actual legitimate rivalry.

I think WVU has the potential to be really bad this year though. So if there was a year to go, I suppose it would be this one.

Respectfully disagree that Penn State needs Pitt or WVU but that's for a different thread.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Respectfully disagree that Penn State needs Pitt or WVU but that's for a different thread.

Beating Pitt is "just like beating Akron"


lol ... I'm a Pitt fan and even must admit that was a fantastic quote.

[Fightingscot82]

Not a good fall for football for me. But my oldest is in 7th grade and has some sudden interest in going to the local high school games, so I have that going for me.

DEFINITE/LIKELY GAMES
09/02 (Sat): Edinboro at Duquesne (its been a while since Boro played an FCS team let alone a beatable one; my dad's degrees are all from Edinboro & Duquesne so he's excited). Unfortunately Duquesne doesn't allow tailgating.
09/30 (Sat): Mercyhurst at Edinboro (Boro Homecoming and I haven't missed one since I've been born, my parents since 1969 & 1970)
11/04 (Sat): Slippery Rock at Edinboro (worlds colliding game for those who know)

ONE (POSSIBLY TWO) OF THE FOLLOWING GAMES
10/21 (Sat): California at Slippery Rock
10/21 (Sat): Clarion at Edinboro
10/28 (Sat): Edinboro at Seton Hill (continuing my trend of seeing more games in high school stadiums)


OTHER POSSIBLE GAMES
None really. Not a Penn State or Pitt fan so I can't think of any games beyond Edinboro & work.

[Ship69]

At my age, driving all over the place and fighting crowds at big-time football venues doesn't hold a lot of appeal for me. I'll get to most of Ship's home games and am looking forward to the opening Newberry game on Sept. 2 and also our home matchup with IUP. Even though I doubt we win either of those, I'll be interested in gauging if the team has improved this season by seeing how we stack up. I'm probably going to the Penn State-Northwestern game in Evanston with my brother, the Penn State alum. The main reason for that was to see one last game in Northwestern's venerable Ryan Field (still Dyche Stadium to the older among us), but with the uproar at Northwestern now I'm not sure the new stadium plans will go ahead on schedule. We shall see. Obviously I don't expect Northwestern to give this year's Penn State squad much of a game.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

At my age, driving all over the place and fighting crowds at big-time football venues doesn't hold a lot of appeal for me. I'll get to most of Ship's home games and am looking forward to the opening Newberry game on Sept. 2 and also our home matchup with IUP. Even though I doubt we win either of those, I'll be interested in gauging if the team has improved this season by seeing how we stack up. I'm probably going to the Penn State-Northwestern game in Evanston with my brother, the Penn State alum. The main reason for that was to see one last game in Northwestern's venerable Ryan Field (still Dyche Stadium to the older among us), but with the uproar at Northwestern now I'm not sure the new stadium plans will go ahead on schedule. We shall see. Obviously I don't expect Northwestern to give this year's Penn State squad much of a game.

Ship plays at IUP this year.

[Ship69]

Ship plays at IUP this year.

LOL. You're right. I've looked at the schedule several times already, so just had a complete brain fart. IUP, Shepherd, Kutztown, and East Stroud are all away games for Ship this season, which adds another layer of difficulty to an already challenging schedule.

[Ship69]

Beating Pitt is "just like beating Akron"


lol ... I'm a Pitt fan and even must admit that was a fantastic quote.

Pitt has been a bit better recently. I remember when Penn State-Syracuse was a huge Eastern rivalry in the days of Ernie Davis, Jim Brown, Floyd Little and Larry Csonka at Syracuse. Not anymore.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Respectfully disagree that Penn State needs Pitt or WVU but that's for a different thread.

I'd agree on PSU. Pitt is largely seen as an afterthought in Happy Valley -- similar to how ACC football is seen by the Big and SEC.

PSU will get 106,000 whether it schedules Pitt or Kent State.

I'd love to see them play yearly, but, well, obviously that isn't going to happen.

That game is way bigger for Pitt than PSU. Pitt needs the marquee visitors to draw well (regardless of the bogus announced numbers it spews out each week). The sea of yellow seats doesn't lie - no matter how hard they try not to show them on TV.

[Fightingscot82]

I'd agree on PSU. Pitt is largely seen as an afterthought in Happy Valley -- similar to how ACC football is seen by the Big and SEC.

PSU will get 106,000 whether it schedules Pitt or Kent State.

I'd love to see them play yearly, but, well, obviously that isn't going to happen.

That game is way bigger for Pitt than PSU. Pitt needs the marquee visitors to draw well (regardless of the bogus announced numbers it spews out each week). The sea of yellow seats doesn't lie - no matter how hard they try not to show them on TV.

Does Pitt still tarp over the upper deck? I like that idea. They should consider doing it for all but a couple games (the rare top 25 matchup, Notre Dame, etc). Pack the fans in the lower area. Still allows you to use the boxes. Pitt hypothetically only needs a 25-40k stadium. Selling out helps demand.

[Ship69]

Does Pitt still tarp over the upper deck? I like that idea. They should consider doing it for all but a couple games (the rare top 25 matchup, Notre Dame, etc). Pack the fans in the lower area. Still allows you to use the boxes. Pitt hypothetically only needs a 25-40k stadium. Selling out helps demand.

Reminds me of when I went to see the Penn State-Northwestern game at Evanston in 1995 when Northwestern had its miraculous run to the Rose Bowl. I sat in the upper deck at Dyche Stadiium, and it was probably the first time they'd used the upper deck on the home side in more than 20 years. I was about half afraid the thing would crumble into the lower deck, but it worked out just fine and NU took a rare win over Penn State at 21-10.

When I was at grad school at NU in the '69-'70, nobody outside the football factories really got that worked up about college football, and they might have 18,000 or so at an average Northwestern game. I did get to see Mike Adamle set the NU single-game rushing record that year against Wisconsin and watched a talented OSU team with Rex Kern and Jack Tatum grind us into the dust. The two winning seasons Northwestern had in the years after I left were the last two winning records they had before the onset of the 20-plus season "dark ages."

[IUP24]

CHIP72 - I sincerely apologize. It was my comment that started this whole debacle. I love this thread that you post annually. I think it's fun for everyone to share their list of games. I never intended for an innocent comment about wishing a trio of regional rivals still played annually to create the inevitable Pitt football attendance talk.

What are we actually talking about? Google "Average College Football Attendance." The immediate number (from 2019) that pops up is 41,856. Not 50,000, 60,000, or 107k strong.

People always seem to say things like this about attendance, but mostly only ever related to Pitt? Who cares how many people show up to the games? Why is this a thing?

Their student section sells out, they have a core group of fans who attend every weekend (like every school), and over the last few seasons they've had some terrific atmospheres for games. Does one marquee game inflate attendance numbers? Sure. But it does everywhere. That's not limited to just Pitt. That's legitimately every school in the country outside of the token few who draw massive numbers each weekend regardless of the opponent. But those schools are the exception, not the norm. You all know that.

The reality is Pitt draws much like everyone else in college football, but they just do it in a stadium that's significantly too large for the size of the school and fanbase. Spare me the "Oh but they are inflating attendance numbers" garbage. They are right in line with most schools, and that's quite okay. I'm not sure why people fail to see that. And I'm not sure why people care about it so much to always bring it up. When Pitt won the national championship, they didn't sell out Pitt Stadium which held under 50,000 people. WVU doesn't sell out every game. They are the state university of West Virginia, and they play in a 60,000 seat stadium. Yet they poke fun at Pitt. I'm not sure why Pitt's draw is so fascinating. People in Texas couldn't care less about the attendance at Baylor or TCU. Those schools just play in small stadiums, so it looks better. Baylor or TCU likely wouldn't sell out Acrisure Stadium every week, or to use the comparison in Texas, Reliant Stadium or Jerry World.

Relatively speaking, Pitt is a smallish D1 school. They aren't the "state" university of Pennsylvania. They have a smaller student body and alumni base than those large institutions.

The University of Cincinnati could be seen as having a more successful football program than Pitt over the last 15 years. They average 36,000 a game. They have a student body that has 15,000 to 17,000 more students than Pitt (depending on where you look). Cincinatti, Pittsburgh, and their surrounding areas are comparable in terms of population. Their situations are comparable (neither is the marquee program in their state, with both having experienced a lot of recent success). If Cincy moved into Paycor Stadium tomorrow, they wouldn't draw 70,000 people a game. If Ohio State came to town, absolutely. But when Iowa state visits, they'll get 45,000 if that. Would people talk about the empty green seats and the bogus attendance numbers? No. Nobody would blink an eye. Nobody would care. And everyone would just keep playing football. I just don't get it. Nobody else in the country obsesses over the attendance at a particular school quite like what happens in the Western PA area. The factors that you see with Penn State are unique. Only about 8-12 schools in the country are comparable (combination of stadium size, alumni base, student body, etc.). Compare Pitt fairly. To Cincinati. To Georgia Tech. To Miami. To Boston College. I'm only picking schools in metropolitan/urban areas, but you get the point.

College Football Attendance Rankings: 2023 CFN Five-Year Program Analysis - College Football News | College Football Predictions, Analysis and Updates

The link there is pretty informative in the grand scheme of things. It provides a rolling 5-year picture of attendance in college football from 2018-2022. It includes the COVID season, but the results show that those impacts pretty much were felt in these rankings equally. It also shows the % capacity filled numbers along with many other unique metrics. One game against Penn State (2018) and WVU (2022) didn't rank Pitt where they were ranked (44). From 40-50, this is the order:

Utah, Baylor, North Carolina, Arizona State, Pitt, Colorado, UCLA, TCU, Indiana, UCF, Minnesota - Objectively, in the middle of schools like that is where Pitt should be viewed. Is that fair? I never expect them to sell out regularly. I don't expect them to put 60,000 in regularly either. For what it's worth, Cincy ranks 59 on that list, and they averaged 38,000 in 2022 coming off a CFP berth while averaging 76% of their stadium's capacity.

The initial comment that got this whole thing going was about Pitt, Penn State, and WVU "needing" each other. That morphed into a discussion about Pitt tarping off the upper deck. In no world should that ever happen. And I don't say those three schools should play because of a freaking attendance boost for Pitt. I say that because that's what college football, at it's core, is supposed to be about. I know the genie has long left the bottle on that, but everybody wanting to take a pot shot at Pitt for what they draw knows that too. Not everything has to be about Pitt football's attendance.