Since starting Big Ten play in 1993, Penn State’s non-conference schedule has been a joke.

A very bad joke.

Much like that annoying neighbor, co-worker, roommate or family member who thinks he or she is a comedian when they were clearly born without the sense of humor God gave the common floor rug, the powers that be at Penn State have told this lousy joke over and over.

As Nittany Lion fans groan through early season mismatch after early season mismatch, it seems as if the schedule makers are the only ones smiling.

Temple. Louisville. Pittsburgh. Northern Illinois. Bowling Green. Rutgers.

That’s enough to make any football fan cry. However, it looks like someone has finally gotten the nerve to tell the would-be jokesters who make the schedule to shut the hell up.

At his annual end-of-the-season press conference, Penn State coach Joe Paterno said it is almost a done deal that the Lions will play in the Pigskin Classic to open up the 1999 season. Most likely, they will face Georgia Tech at Beaver Stadium.

"I like to play," Paterno said. "If somebody said to you, ‘We are going to bring back Red Smith,’ and you had a chance to write a column, that would kind of get your adrenaline flowing, wouldn’t it?"

Speaking of bad jokes …

At any rate, Georgia Tech should be the Lions’ toughest opening-day opponent in years. A young Yellow Jacket squad finished 10-2 last season, losing only to Florida State and via upset to Boston College. Most of that team returns, including exciting quarterback Joe Hamilton.

Although it would be played in late August, the Pigskin Classic should have national championship implications as both Penn State and Georgia Tech will most likely be in the top 10 when the preseason polls are released.

As for the rest of the non-conference schedule, the Lions will then feast on Mid-American Conference doormat Akron and a continuously rebuilding Pittsburgh squad.

Those two groaners will be excusable, though, as Penn State then travels to Miami to face a Hurricane squad that should also be on everyone’s preseason top 10 lists.

No, Miami isn’t quite what it was in the days of Kelly, Kosar, Testaverde and Torretta, but the ‘Canes are on their way back. They finished last season at 9-3, and ended it by crushing the national title hopes of UCLA, then rolling over North Carolina State in the Micron PC Bowl.

Overall, Georgia Tech, Akron, Pittsburgh and Miami are an improvement from this year’s non-conference trio of Southern Mississippi, Bowling Green and Pittsburgh. And a tough non-conference schedule couldn’t have come at a better time for Penn State, which should challenge for the national title next season.

Is playing these good teams early in the season a risk? Sure it is. But if you want to be the best, you have to meet challenges. Just ask national champion Tennessee. Of the Vols’ 13 wins, eight came against bowl-bound opponents.

In addition, meeting tough opponents early in the season will be beneficial from a preparation standpoint for the Lions. Beating three non-conference patsies by 40 points apiece to open up the season does little to prepare a team for the minefield that is the Big Ten conference.

With Ohio State, Michigan and Purdue all lying in Penn State’s path to No. 1 next season, the Lions had better get ready for a bumpy ride. Opening with Georgia Tech helps.

A better non-conference schedule seems better for everyone. The bored Beaver Stadium fans can have something to get excited about early in the season. The team will get to prove its mettle early. The university should haul in even more money.

So how about passing over the jokes that are the Akrons and Bowling Greens of college football and putting more serious teams on the early season slate each year?