Despite the home field advantage that clearly comes from Penn State hitting the turf in Beaver Stadium, head coach James Franklin likes the idea of neutral site contests. Franklin likes the idea of not having to commit to a 2-game series, with each team hosting a game.

But, there’s more.

The Nittany Lions welcome Auburn to Beaver Stadium on Saturday night, but Franklin’s thoughts on neutral sites could also possilby come from the difficulties the Tigers have while playing on them.

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Auburn has stumbled during their two recent matchups against B1G conference teams, and on Saturday the Tigers will be taking the field in Happy Valley for the first time to take on Penn State, and Tigers coach Bryan Harsin will be trying to shift the tide.

Since they managed to top Purdue 63-14 three seasons ago, Auburn upped their record to 7-2-2 all time against B1G opponents, but the then ranked No. 9 Tigers suffered a 31-24 upset loss to No. 16 Minnesota at the Outback Bowl in Tampa.

The following year, while being led by lame duck interim head coach/defensive coordinator Kevin Steele in charge for the Citrus Bowl in Orlando while Harsin was stuck in Orlando with his family, the unranked Tigers were out-played by No. 15 Northwestern, dropping another neutral site contest, 35-19.

Auburn and Penn State kick off at 6:30PM on Saturday, Sept. 18.