White Out game reaches 20th anniversary
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (NITTANY NATION) – Beaver Stadium is one of the biggest theaters in America and is home to the "Greatest Show in College Sports," the White Out.
"I get chills just thinking about the White Out," Penn State captain Dom DeLuca said.
"I think everybody that walks in there in a White Out is like fired up," ESPN College Gameday host Rece Davis said to Nittany Nation. "If you don't have a tingle running up and down your spine when you walk into a White Out game, you probably don't have a spine."
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The 20th anniversary of the White Out welcomes Washington to the Big 10, where Huskies head coach Jedd Fisch witnessed the environment up close back in 2015 as a member of Michigan's coaching staff.
"I'm not concerned about it," Fisch said. "I showed the guys what it looks like a little bit on Sunday night. I showed them some clips of playing at Penn State at the White Out."
Fisch may not be concerned, but Davis has seen the effect it can have on a team, the most notable example was the "Mo Bamba Moment" against the Wolverines in 2019.
"It is intimidating because you have a hard time getting your snap count, a hard time getting plays off," Davis said.
"I think it's advantageous to Penn State to have a game like that," former Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard said to Nittany Nation.
That advantage hasn't always translated to wins. In the first 11 White Out games that were declared for either the student section or full stadium, Penn State had just a 4-7 record.
The turning point was the historic 2016 win against Ohio State, which saw Grant Haley return a blocked field goal for a touchdown in the upset win over the Buckeyes.
Since then, Penn State has been nearly unbeatable in the White Out game and is looking to win its sixth in a row on Saturday night.
"It's something about the lights here and I'm not casting aspersions at the lights, but they don't seem the same as other places," Davis added. "Maybe they're way up high or something but when everything around you is white, there's like an eeriness to it and it's exhilarating."
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"It's one of the best environments at nighttime when it's a White Out," Howard said. "12 p.m. (start times are) cool but (it's) special at nighttime, just from the optics (and) the energy.
Howard and plenty of Penn State fans have their wishes granted this year by having the "Greatest Show in College Sports" under the bright lights of Beaver Stadium.
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"It's unmatched to any other environment," DeLuca said.
"You could certainly make the argument there are (no atmospheres) better," Davis said.
