With the start of Penn State’s 2021 season now just weeks away, the Nittany Lions football program is gearing up for one of its most anticipated campaigns in years.

That is, of course, for a variety of reasons.

Not only was Penn State football disappointed with its results in 2020, falling to an 0-5 start - the worst in the program’s history - before rebounding to finish 4-5, the first losing record since 2004, but nearly all of it was done in front of empty stadiums.

With a Big Ten-only schedule, and a conference-wide mandate to allow only family of players and coaches into stadiums last season, Penn State’s achievements and shortfalls all were done in relative isolation.

In fact, Penn State head coach James Franklin went so far as to lament the loss of even the most virulently anti-Nittany Lion sentiment the team would typically encounter on the road last season.

“It was totally bizarre last year. I take my lap before every game, home and away, and literally to pull up to the Big House and there's not a car in the parking lot, and there's nobody in the stands, except for cardboard cutouts… it’s crickets in there," Franklin said. "You’d pull up at Rutgers and nobody's giving you the finger and mooning you, and I mean that from a place of love. I missed that. I missed people screaming and yelling and cussing us out and mooning the buses as we drove by. I know that sounds strange, but it's been bizarre.”

Franklin and the Nittany Lions won’t have to wait much longer to have that feeling come rushing back, particularly given the location of the season’s first game at Wisconsin on the afternoon of Sept. 4.

Considering the anticipation at hand, both from the programs and fans alike, let’s check in on the toughest tickets home and away, ahead of the 2021 season:

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The Nittany Lions’ return to Beaver Stadium will certainly carry significant weight as it marks the first time in more than a year in which Penn State has an opportunity to host a full house.

But, welcoming Ball State on Sept. 11, the real fireworks will be on a one week delay.

At present, SeatGeek is showing a lowest get-in price of $262 per ticket, selling two, for the next-to-last row in the North end zone of Beaver Stadium - North G Upper, Row 94.

On the other end of the spectrum, tickets in section EE behind the Penn State bench, 33 rows from the field near the 50-yard line, are currently listed at $1,925 per ticket for either two or four seats.

For as high-priced as tickets are currently to the biggest nonconference matchup at Beaver Stadium in years, the secondary market is plentiful, however. SeatGeek shows available seats in nearly every section absent the student section and in the South end zone’s upper deck club seats.

While the Nittany Lions will see two marquee home matchups this season in Auburn, with a full stadium white out on tap, and Michigan, a student section white out planned, the toughest ticket all year will be at the Horseshoe in Columbus.

At present, the barrier for entry for the Oct. 30 game in Columbus is $278 apiece for two tickets in the northeast corner of the stadium. As rated by Seatgeek, the “Best Deal” option in the secondary market however is for two tickets at $503 each in section 25A, near the south end zone goal line, about 40 rows from the field.

For the Buckeyes this season, Penn State’s visit ranks as the second most-expensive get-in price in their seven home games at the Horseshoe.

No. 1? Ryan Day and Ohio State football will welcome the Oregon Ducks to the ‘Shoe on Sept. 11 with the lowest ticket price currently topping $305 apiece. (The Buckeyes travel to Michigan this season for the annual rivalry between the two programs).

Already a “getaway game” considering its timing the Saturday before students head home for Thanksgiving break, Penn State’s Nov. 20 matchup at Beaver Stadium serves as the lowest-priced ticket in the secondary market this season, home or away.

With an asking price of just $23 each for two tickets in Section NH, Row 4, the cheapest option all year is also plentiful in nature. Though the highest-priced tickets for the game currently come in at $212 for choice seating, SeatGeek shows a horde of options for tickets all being sold for under $30, with the “Best Deal” signifier going to a pair sold in SJU, Row 71, for $29 each.

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Depending on what’s at stake for the Nittany Lions late in the campaign, the season-finale at Michigan State offers a similarly low-priced entry point for Penn State fans looking to travel.

At present, the game isn’t listed on SeatGeek, but StubHub shows tickets in Row 4, Section 107, near the 20-yard line, priced at just $35 each. Meanwhile, “Best Value” tickets can be had in a lower sideline area, Section 25, also near the 20-yard line, 21 rows up for just $65 each.

1. Penn State at Ohio State - $278

2. Auburn at Penn State - $262

3. Michigan at Penn State - $133

4. Penn State at Wisconsin - $85

5. Penn State at Iowa - $77

6. Indiana at Penn State - $67

7. Illinois at Penn State - $48

8. Villanova at Penn State - $45

9. Penn State at Maryland - $42

10. Ball State at Penn State - $39

11. Penn State at Michigan State - $35

12. Rutgers at Penn State - $23

One note of interest:

For as much as Penn State and Wisconsin fans are looking forward to the season-opening matchup between the two Big Ten programs, the game's entry point isn't tops for either side.

Rather, Wisconsin's Sept. 25 date with Notre Dame at Chicago's Soldier Field checks in as the toughest ticket all season for the Badgers at $239 apiece, with a game against Michigan the next weekend, Oct. 2, at Camp Randall Stadium checking in at the second slot at $107 per ticket.

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