White Out, White Out, White Out. The repetitive emphasis is a reminder of just how much conversation and consternation there has been about which game Penn State would pick for its annual Beaver Stadium spectacle.
The eventual choice was Washington on Nov. 9. Athletic director Pat Kraft told reporters at Big Ten Media Days this week that he still doesn’t know if the game would kick off at 3:30 p.m. or 7 p.m. ET that day. The later time would, of course, ensure that the sky is black from warmups straight through the final horn. But, even the mid-afternoon start would quickly usher in night skies thanks to a pre-5 p.m. sunset. The long and short of it is this: Penn State wants this game to be at night or as close to it as possible. And, thus a game like the Ohio State one, which will likely be a “BIG NOON” kickoff on FOX, could not be the pick. That is all now clear, for better or worse.
But what about another question tied to the White Out: Can there be two in one season? Should there be? And does the potential to host a College Football Playoff game at home change the calculus any? It might.
“It may be a White Out and we had nothing to do with it being a white out; it may be a weather white out,” Franklin joked at Big Ten Media Days. “I will say this: Something that me and Pat really haven’t talked about up to this point, but, we feel very strongly that there should be one White Out a year. We’re able to create some really cool environments with a Stripe Out, a helmet stripe, which is very close to a White Out, we’re able to create some really good environments.”
The Generations of Greatness game featuring throwback uniforms is another example of Franklin’s point. Student section White Outs that grow into more of a full stadium one are not unheard of, either. But, it feels safe to say that the majority of the fan base would side with Franklin and Pat Kraft and say that one White Out a year is enough. Too much of a good thing ruins it. With that said, it’s very difficult to imagine, even if told not to, that Penn State fans wouldn’t just organize their own White Out if the Nittany Lions were set for a primetime CFP matchup.
“I think it’s up for discussion with myself, Pat, and others to say, ‘hey, we only do one White Out a year, but if we would have a home Playoff game, is that something to discuss? That, this is a different model in college football, and we want to do everything we possibly can to put us in the best position to be successful,” Franklin said. “And if that gives us a little bit extra juice in between Pat Kraft and mother nature, we may have one of the biggest White Outs we’ve ever had.”
All jokes aside, a second White Out in any season Penn State hosts a CFP game is almost certainly a guarantee. And, rightly so: It should be. The environment it creates is too much to pass up for the sake of uniqueness.
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