Blue White Illustrated

IT MIGHT GET LOUD Penn State and Ohio State will meet on Sept. 29 in the Nit- tany Lions' Big Ten home opener. Photo by Curtis Chan P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> 2 0 1 8 S E A S O N P R E V I E W NIGHT SCHOOL T H E S C H E D U L E Penn State will look to rekindle its White Out magic against a familiar foe B efore heading to Penn State two years ago, Ohio State coach Urban Meyer grumbled about having to face the Nittany Lions at night, where his team would be greeted by a blinding sea of white and subjected to wave after wave of howling noise. Said the Buck- eyes coach, "I wish they would save the White Outs for other games." As it turned out, he was right to be concerned. Buoyed by their ravenous crowd, the Lions rallied to defeat sec- ond-ranked Ohio State in a game that perhaps more than any other helped re- establish James Franklin's program as a nationally relevant force in college foot- ball. Meyer was right, too, that the Buck- eyes have gotten the White Out treat- ment a lot more frequently than PSU's other Big Ten rivals. Since 2005, Penn State and Ohio State have met six times at Beaver Stadium, and all but one of those games have been in prime time, the exception being a 3:30 p.m. kickoff in 2009. Ohio State has won four of those six games, but the Nittany Lions have been increasingly successful in recent years, even during the period in which their scholarship roster was diminished by the NCAA sanctions. In 2012, the teams were tied at halftime, 7-7, before the Lions succumbed to the No. 7 Buckeyes' superior depth in a 35-23 loss. Two years later, PSU had a seven-point lead over the 13th-ranked Bucks in overtime, but gave up two touchdowns to lose, 31-24. Then came the 2016 game, in which Grant Haley's 60-yard return of a blocked field goal supplied the decisive points in a 24-21 victory and sent the Nittany Lions down a path that would eventually lead to the Big Ten champi- onship. Penn State's victory two years ago was regarded as one of the biggest upsets of the season, but perceptions have shifted and the two programs now appear to be on roughly the same competitive level. Since that fateful night in October 2016, both teams have gone 17-3, and both have won conference titles. Included in Ohio State's win total is a 39-38 come- |

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