I haven't been to LSU on a Saturday night, The Swamp in Florida, Death Valley in Clemson or Between the Hedges at Georgia. I know all are wonderful.
I have been to Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Notre Dame Stadium, the Big House in Michigan, the Horseshoe at Ohio State, Camp Randall Stadium in Wisconsin and both venues for Nebraska-Oklahoma when Nebraska actually was good. They were amazing.
But the best scene in college football is Penn State's Beaver Stadium.
Especially on a White Out night.
There will be another on Saturday night when No. 22 Auburn plays No. 10 Penn State. A throbbing crowd of more than 107,000 is expected. Sounds of Zombie Nation and "We Are Penn State!" will fill the Happy Valley night. You will be able to feel the old stadium shake from Jeannette to Jersey.
There is nothing like it.
It is the one thing I missed most when sports went away during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The only thing I like more than Christmas is a White Out football game," Penn State coach James Franklin said a few years ago. "I think Beaver Stadium on a normal game day is a top-five atmosphere. A White Out game day is something you don't really understand unless you can experience it for yourself."
I will never see a better college football game than 13-9 at Morgantown in 2007. Kudos to Pitt for pulling off one of the great upsets of all time. I still can't believe it. Neither can the entire state of West Virginia.
But just as memorable for me was Penn State's 17-10 win against Ohio State on a White Out night in 2005. It had to rank awfully high among Joe Paterno's 409 career wins. Top 10, certainly.
Penn State was coming off four losing seasons in five years. There was a report the university administration wanted Paterno out. He was strong enough to hang on.
Penn State improved to 6-0 after beating Ohio State that night in front of almost 110,000 on its way to an 11-1 season, a three-overtime win against Florida State in the Orange Bowl and a No. 3 ranking in the final Associated Press poll. I still can see defensive end Tamba Hali sacking quarterback Troy Smith and forcing a fumble that clinched the win. I have never heard a louder crowd. I have never seen bedlam like that.
I hate to say I missed the White Out game against No. 2 Ohio State in 2016 because it also was spectacular. Penn State was 4-2 in Franklin's third season going into the game, had lost at Pitt six weeks earlier and was nearly a three-touchdown underdog. But Penn State safety Marcus Allen and cornerback Grant Haley made a play that stunned all of college football. Allen blocked a late 45-yard field-goal attempt by Tyler Durbin, and Haley returned the ball 60 yards for the winning touchdown in a 24-21 win.
Again, there was unbelievable bedlam.
Allen was on the field in Buffalo on Sunday for the Steelers' blocked punt and touchdown return against the Bills. It couldn't have felt as good as that block against Ohio State. Penn State went on to win the Big Ten title before losing to USC in the Rose Bowl. Many consider that blocked kick the greatest play in Penn State history.
"You can feel the ground shaking," Haley said of the White Out crowd that night. "It's unexplainable. It's unreal."
It's hard to imagine the game against Auburn topping either of those Ohio State games. It's a nonconference game, for one thing. Auburn is rebuilding under new coach Bryan Harsin, for another. Penn State is a 6 1/2 -point favorite.
But it's a White Out night, right?
You never know what's going to happen.
It is the best night in college football.
