Blue White Illustrated

N O V E M B E R 2 0 , 2 0 1 6 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M 12 N A T E B A U E R | N B A U E R @ B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Dressed in white, Penn State students made their move at the end of the third quarter. A mix of rain and sleet drenched the few hundred fans le? at High Point So- lutions Stadium, but the Nittany Lion students in attendance didn't seem to mind; just the opposite, in fact. Leading a mass migration into the Scarlet Knight student section directly behind the sta- dium's south end zone, the students jumped and cheered, much to the dis- pleasure of the adjacent Rutgers band. The No. 9 Nittany Lions were already comfortably ahead 25-0 on a uncomfort- ably cold and windy evening, and the traveling posse was simply en- joying its opportunity to gloat, even if there were few scat- tered Rutgers fans to see it. To the Penn State players and coaches weathering the condi- tions, the fan support did not go unrecognized. "Our fans are unreal, the type of sup- port we get," head coach James Franklin said. "I'd probably describe those weather conditions as less than ideal, and our fans were unbelievable right here until the end. I've never been a part of anything like it. Our guys feed off it, so I'm very appreciative of that." In a very direct way, the Nittany Lions found further reason to perform given the celebratory mood of the nearly empty sta- dium. Although stadium security had al- ready started forcing the Penn Staters back to their seats by the time the Scarlet Knights ran their first play of the game's final frame, the Nittany Lion defensive line offered an up-close view of the dominance it had been unleashing all evening long. An Evan Schwan sack popped loose the third of Rutgers' fumbles on the evening. And though the Scarlet Knights retained possession, it wouldn't last long, as Penn State forced another of their 11 punts on the evening just two plays later. A?er helping limit the hosts to only five first downs and 87 total yards of offense on 50 plays, defensive tackle Parker Cothren described the feeling of having so many fans behind them. "It was fun. It was an experience. I've never played in anything like that be- fore," Cothren said. "I've got to thank our fans for sticking through and staying and cheering the whole time. It was awesome seeing them. Even when all the Rutgers fans le?, they were loud and they were rowdy, and it was awesome." Shortly therea?er, Penn State capped an 11-play drive with a swing pass from Trace McSorley to running back Mark Allen that resulted in a dramatic 27-yard touchdown catch-and-run. The Lions went on to add a 12-yard Tommy Stevens touchdown to finish off their 39-0 win and were greeted by throngs of wet Penn State fans behind their bench once the clock finally expired at 11:15 p.m. Energized and motivated by the posi- tivity and enthusiasm of the movement behind the program's improbable run of success, Franklin called on an even bigger presence when the team closes out its regular season next Saturday against Michigan State with a potential Big Ten Championship Game berth on the line. "We're going to need everybody," Franklin said. "Obviously this is a unique situation." HOME AWAY FROM HOME Fan enthusiasm helps energize Nittany Lions in victory over Rutgers PSUtixman@gmail.com www.PSUtixman.com Get your PSU Football Tickets at go t ti cke t s? k c i t t t e k man@g .PSUtixm www.PSUtixman.com at ootba Get yo k c i t t o gm .PSUtixman.com all ur s t s e k Franklin said he appreciated the strong fan support PSU received at Rut- gers. Photo by Steve Manuel

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