Penn State Returns to Beaver Stadium, Where a Testy Fan Base Awaits

Hardly anyone would have predicted before the season that Penn State and Northwestern would bring the same record (3-2) to their October matchup. Penn State, ranked No. 2 in the AP preseason poll, fell out of the top 25 this week. The Nittany Lions also are 0-2 in the Big Ten, while Northwestern has one win — over UCLA, which it defeated the week before the Nittany Lions traveled to Pasadena.

“Trust me, we feel the pain. Trust me,” Franklin said. “We feel it internally, and as much as I’d like to limit the external, they feel that too.” 

Regardless of how the fans feel, Franklin needs to make sure that he doesn’t lose the motivation of his locker room. Penn State hasn’t been mathematically eliminated from the College Football Playoff but must sweep the remainder of a schedule that includes road games at Iowa and Ohio State and a home date against Indiana.

Quarterback Drew Allar was asked directly Saturday if Penn State still could make the playoff. “What do you think?” he responded before saying, “Yes.”  

“I think coach Franklin does a great job preaching that it’s all about what’s inside the Lasch Building, listening to each other, building off the energy we get from each other,” offensive lineman Drew Shelton said. “We have a game to play on Saturday, and that’s all we can focus on, that’s all we can control.”

Added tight end Andrew Rapleyea, “For us, it’s the guys in the room. It’s us. Every single week, that’s all that really matters.”

On the flight home from California, everyone was quiet, but Rappleyea said the bond in the locker room hasn’t soured or fed the negativity. 

“Nothing has changed,” he said. “If anything, the energy has been picked up more. We’ve been seeing a lot more from the Tuesday, Wednesday practices. The [developmental] squad has been busting their tails for us, and it’s honestly been more competitive for us in these situations. So I think it’s only helping us.”

Homecoming tickets are readily available

Tickets for the Penn State-Northwestern game are readily available and won’t cost a fortune, either. As of Thursday, prices for Ticketmaster’s verified resale tickets started as low as $18 for two seats together. Seats in the lower bowl were available for below $40.  

That’s a drastic reduction from ticket prices to the Oregon game, which topped $400 during game week. Penn State’s smallest announced crowd last season was against Bowling Green (103,861). Considering the team’s record and the amount of frustration that lingers over the area, it wouldn’t be shocking to see some empty seats scattered in the stadium. 

“I don’t really worry at all about the fans,” safety Zakee Wheatley said. “I come out there to play football. Obviously it’s a great Penn State student [section] and our amazing fans that we get to play in front of. So I am going to go out there and play football.”

On his radio show Thursday, Franklin said that the fans can impact more than the game. He referenced recruiting, for football as well as other sports, and how the Beaver Stadium atmosphere can change a program's trajectory.

"I love the passion of our fan base, and they've made it very clear how they feel at times," Franklin said on the Penn State Coaches Show. "I get it. But I will tell you this. Our players feed off of [the fans]. Yes, there's going to be a ton of recruits at the game. They feed off of that.

"Obviously, we've got all the other coaches that use our games for recruiting weekends. That positive energy in the stadium is critical for all of us moving forward. It's important for our guys on the field on Saturday, but it's also important for the future of the program, too."