Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/557480
K I C K O F F I S S U E did they miss Syracuse, which went 4-23 against Penn State during the Paterno era, or West Virginia or Temple? For decades, there was a vast chasm be- tween Penn State and its Eastern oppo- nents, as the Lions relied on intersectional series against the likes of Alabama, Ne- braska and Notre Dame to bolster their schedule. While that gap has shrunk in recent years, due in part to the Sandusky scandal and NCAA sanctions that followed, and also to the proliferation of cable TV and streaming video outlets, which have prevented the sport's top programs from monopolizing the airwaves as they once did, Maryland and Rutgers are still playing catch-up in significant ways. Last season, Rutgers played six home games, drawing an average of 50,632 fans per game. Meanwhile, in its six games at Byrd Stadium, Maryland averaged 46,981 fans. The Knights ranked seventh in the Big Ten in total attendance, while the Terps were 10th. And Penn State? Despite a middling on- field performance that was clearly im- pacted by the NCAA sanctions, the Lions were third in the Big Ten and fifth na- tionally with an average attendance of 101,623. The Nittany Lions' strong performance at the gate was not surprising. Thanks to its success building an audience during the Paterno era, Penn State is able to draw a crowd no matter who it's playing. While the opponent certainly matters, as evidenced by the disparity between the crowds for last year's best-attended game (Ohio State, 107,895) and its worst- attended game (Akron, 97,354), it matters less than at other schools. Consider this: The crowd that poured into Beaver Sta- dium to see Penn State thump Akron, 21-3, last September was nearly twice the size of the biggest home crowd either Rutgers or Maryland drew all year. And what was that crowd? You guessed it: Penn State's trip to Piscataway, which drew 53,774. Those figures help illustrate why the Nittany Lions' opponents are so eager to get reacquainted with their nearest geo- graphical rival. Not only do games against the Lions garner media attention and TV ratings, they also help boost their own home attendance. It's one of the reasons why this year's game vs. Maryland will take place not at 54,000-seat Byrd Stadium but at Baltimore's 71,000-seat M&T Bank Stadium. But as Maryland and Rutgers settle into their new conference, there remains one big unanswered question concerning their relationship with their would-be rival Penn State: Is the feeling mutual? Did last year's theatrics, coupled with a pair of tight games that were decided by a combined total of four points, speed up the "organic" process that Edsall and Flood hope will produce a pair of true Eastern rivalries? For now, the Nittany Lions are playing it cool. After the handshake incident last year, coach James Franklin chose his words carefully, saying only that "in 20 years [as a coach], I've never seen that before." It will undoubtedly be brought up again prior to Penn State's visit to Baltimore on Oct. 24, but with the effects of the sanc- tions still lingering, the Lions are in no position to prioritize their schedule, de- ciding that only certain opponents will get their best effort. "We have tremendous respect for the entire conference," Franklin said. "I think the addition of Maryland and Rutgers has been awesome. I've got tremendous re-