James Franklin calls out FOX for trying to put White Out game at noon

College football is all about traditions. Everyone has one and there may not be many better in the sport than Penn State‘s ‘White Out’.

The ‘White Out’ began in the Nittany Lions’ 20-13 loss to No. 9 Purdue in 2004, but it stuck and has become a staple of the program ever since. The event will once again take place this weekend in Beaver Stadium, when No. 3 Penn State hosts No. 6 Oregon in one of the biggest games of the season so far.

Although it appears as if FOX has wanted ‘White Out’ games to kick off at noon in the past, the game will kick off in prime time at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC Saturday night. Penn State head coach James Franklin called out FOX during his Wednesday press conference, along with describing the significance of the event.

“First of all, a normal game in Beaver Stadium is special,” Franklin said. “We are blessed and fortunate and do not take for granted that we, on a consistent basis, will get about 106,000 fans here. That number can go up a little bit or down a little bit, but we get great support week in and week out. Some programs would die to have 60,000 and we’re obviously way above that.

“And then the ‘White Out,’ like a lot of things, like homecoming at a campus or whatever it may be, there’s unique games. This is something that was started about 20 years ago and it has taken off. Obviously, there’s a lot of factors that go into it.”

Franklin calls out FOX for wanting a noon ‘White Out’ game

“I know FOX tried to argue that a 12:00 ‘White Out’ was the same as a 7:00 ‘White Out,’ and people would disagree with that. There’s been factors that have impacted it a bit, but when you’re able to get a night game against an opponent like we have… with the sky, the black sky. The white uniforms. The white crowd and the contrast of the black uniforms. Just the anticipation and the buildup with even students sleeping outside the stadium for the entire week… it’s just turned into a special event.”

Penn State and Oregon both head into the monstrous Big Ten clash with undefeated records. Their resumes, however, look vastly different, as the Nittany Lions have yet to beat a Power-Four team while the Ducks boast blowout victories over Oklahoma State, Northwestern and Oregon State. Penn State is 13-8 all-time in ‘White Out’ games.