Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1472993
8 2 A U G U S T 2 0 2 2 The Nittany Lions' 2022 slate brings a host of challenges, including a new White Out opponent S ome fans might have been caught off- guard when Penn State announced in June that this year's White Out game would be Oct. 22 against Minnesota. From 2012 to 2019, the White Out featured the Nittany Lions against either Ohio State or Michigan. That trend would likely have continued, but there was no White Out in 2020 due to the pandemic, and last year the Auburn game was selected because PSU's matchup with Ohio State was in Columbus and Michigan's visit was slated for mid-No- vember, too late in the season for a prime- time kickoff. This year, the Ohio State game was avail- able, but Penn State has called for a Stripe Out that night and opted to give the White Out treatment instead to its meeting with the Gophers, a team that it has played only 15 times, less than any other Big Ten opponent. An unexpected choice? Maybe. But ap- propriate given the history. In 2016, Penn State stunned the Gophers by rallying back from a 10-point third-quar- ter deficit, then winning the game on a 25- yard run by Saquon Barkley on its first offen- sive play of overtime. The euphoric victory was the first in a historic run that propelled Penn State back to the nation's elite after a series of middling seasons that followed the NCAA sanctions. The Lions went on to win 36 of their next 43 games, including the Big Ten Championship Game in 2016. Then, in November 2019, they met Min- nesota again. Just as they had in the earlier matchup, the Gophers sprinted out to an early lead, but this time they held off PSU's comeback bid, outlasting the visitors 31-26 in a battle of unbeatens. Like its predecessor, the 2019 meeting be- tween the Nittany Lions and Gophers seemed to precipitate a larger change in Penn State's fortunes. Since falling to Minnesota at TCF Bank Stadium that cold afternoon, the Lions have gone 14-12. The recent history between these two pro- grams should help make for an exciting night in Beaver Stadium this fall, especially with the Gophers expected to field a Big Ten West Division title contender after going 9-4 in 2021 and ending with an 18-6 victory over West Virginia in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl. The rest of the schedule looks daunting, too. The Nittany Lions will face a College Football Playoff semifinalist in Michigan, along with eight other opponents that played in bowl games last season. ESPN re- cently ranked it the nation's 23rd-toughest slate. With so many highly competitive match- ups on their upcoming schedule, the Lions won't have an easy time bouncing back from a 2021 season in which they dropped six of their last eight games to finish 7-6. That performance— and the 4-5 season that preceded it — have created some urgency, with PSU seeking to engineer a turnaround in 2022. If the Lions have their way, the changes this year won't be restricted to their White Out opponent. ■ The White Out has been an annual Penn State tradition since 2004, with the Nittany Lions having won nine of the 17 games to date. PHOTO COURTESY PENN STATE ATHLETICS M AT T H E R B | M AT T. H E R B @ O N 3 . C O M Lights, Camera, Action