WR Geno Lewis warms up before Penn State’s loss to Temple. Photo by: Michael Corsey @ Michael Corsey Photography

The third game of a five-game home stand will bring a first-time opponent to Beaver Stadium, as the San Diego State Aztecs of the Mountain West Conference will take on Penn State in a 3:30 p.m. contest that will be televised on the Big Ten Network.

Penn State is returning to non-conference play after a thrilling win in its Big Ten opener against Rutgers in primetime. The Nittany Lion faithful again proved that they were the best in the nation as a near-capacity crowd of over 103,000 perfectly executed a “Stripe Out” of Beaver Stadium; alternating sections of fans donned either blue or white. Penn State pride runs deeper than good looks though, as the student section’s passion and energy made a direct impact on Rutgers’ very first offensive play. Pinned on their own 2-yard line right in front of the screaming students, a Scarlet Knight twitched early for a false start. The Penn State defense only allowed Rutgers to reach the red zone once. The Scarlet Knights were able to get a field goal out of that drive, but the Lions held them out of the end zone, doing so for the first time against a Big Ten opponent since 2011.

Freshman Saquon Barkley added to the fireworks with a 195 of Penn State’s 330 rushing yards on the night and two touchdowns. Akeel Lynch broke through for a 75-yard touchdown run, while DeAndre Thompkins continued a trend of wide receivers contributing to the ground game with night’s first score.

Penn State will face an unfamiliar opponent in San Diego State. Not only has Penn State never played the Aztecs, but Penn State has played just four games against the current alignment of the Mountain West in its history. Three of those games were against Air Force and the most recent meeting with a MWC foe was against Utah State in 1977. The Nittany Lions prevailed in all four games, while San Diego State is 2-14 all-time against Big Ten opponents. The Aztecs will become the 155th different opponent that the Lions have faced in their history. Penn State is 14-2 against opponents it had never played prior to 2000.