Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1276571
LONESOME ROAD T H E O P P O N E N T S If the Big Ten is able to play this fall, the game day atmosphere in its massive venues will be unlike anything ever seen I f you think Beaver Stadium can get loud, try attending a Penn State football practice the week before a road trip. To help prepare players for situations in which on-field com- munication will be difficult, James Franklin and his staff like to pipe in noise. A lot of noise. "Something that Coach Franklin has done in recent years that has been very prominent in practice has been to make the loudspeakers as loud as possible, to the point where you can't even hear yourself talk," backup quarterback Will Levis said. "That's always fun in practice when you have to scream your lungs out." The Nittany Lions have compiled a 13-7 road record over the past four seasons, so all that work on nonverbal communication appears to be having some effect. But there's a question heading into the upcoming season: Will it still be necessary? One of the changes wrought by the COVID- 19 pandemic is that stadiums across the country will be largely or entirely empty this season to better facilitate the social distanc- ing measures that are seen as es- sential to containing the novel coronavirus. That's likely to make for some unusual scenes through- out college football. If the Big Ten is able to go forward with its fall season – that in itself was no sure thing heading into August – the Nittany Lions will be playing in some very large, very empty and very quiet venues. Of the road venues that Penn State is slated to visit this fall, the biggest is Michigan Sta- dium. The Nittany Lions were originally set to visit the Big House on Oct. 3, but the game has been rescheduled for Sept. 19. The Wolverines' home holds 107,601 fans, making it the fourth-largest stadium in the world. It's been a hugely challenging environment for Penn State over the years. The Lions are 2-9 in road games vs. Michigan, and that history makes the Wolverines an opponent to be reckoned with, even though they were hit hard by grad- uation following the 2019 season. But if there is a game, the Lions won't be having to run their offense with 100,000-plus fans trying to add to their problems. Michigan told its sea- son-ticket holders in late May that the school was hoping to be able to seat a limited number of fans during the season. But as of this writ- ing, it was unknown just how many would be allowed into the stadium on game day, if any at all. The Nittany Lions are also set to travel to Nebraska, another place where they've had problems. They've won three of their seven games in Lincoln, but two of those victories took place before the start of the Paterno era, and their most recent win was in 1981. During his decade as a head coach, James Franklin has never visited 86,047-seat Memo- rial Stadium, where Nebraska has officially sold out 375 consecutive games, a streak dat- ing to 1962. The Cornhuskers would assuredly have sold out their game against Penn State, which was originally supposed to take place on Nov. 7 and is now set for Oct. 31. But for the foreseeable future, any upcoming games will | EMPTY FEELING Michigan had been hoping to be able to welcome fans this fall, but the Big House will likely be empty, even if football is played in 2020. Photo by Bryan Fuller/ MGoBlog