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James Franklin explains how Penn State College Football Playoff game became a White Out

On3 imageby: Dan Morrison12/10/24dan_morrison96
James Franklin, Penn State
James Franklin, Penn State - © Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

The Penn State Nittany Lions are set to host a College Football Playoff in the first season of the expanded 12-team field with the SMU Mustangs coming to Happy Valley. Unsurprisingly, it’s set to be a White Out game for the Nittany Lions.

Once the Playoff matchups were announced, Penn State head coach James Franklin met with the media. There, he broke down what he knew about how this White Out game came together for the Nittany Lions.

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“To be honest with you, I don’t know,” James Franklin said. “I said it earlier in the season that it would be cool if we get in a Playoff game that it be a White Out and then about an hour ago, I saw on social media that, I guess the decision had been made and it’s going to be. Wasn’t a whole lot of conversations besides that. I mentioned it as a possibility. Didn’t have any follow-up conversations. We were focused on finishing the season the right way and it popped up on social media that this game is a White Out.”

“So, not a whole lot more than that. I’m assuming [Greg] Kincaid and Chris Petersen, Pat Kraft, and others. Vinnie James could answer that a little bit better than me,” Franklin said. “I just want to make sure that we’re selling big enough white jackets and big enough white parkas to cover the hunting gear that everybody’s got the best chance to following the White Out dress code.”

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Earlier in the season, James Franklin made some headlines when he called for a White Out atmosphere against Illinois, though that wasn’t an officially sanctioned White Out. This year, the officially sanctioned White Out came against Washington, making this the second one in a season.

Traditionally, the White Out game is played at night but that won’t be the case with this Playoff game. Penn State and SMU are scheduled to play at 12:00 p.m. EST on December 21st. How that changes the environment is going to be interesting to follow.

Still, the White Out has been one of the great annual games for Penn State as Beaver Stadium is filled with more than 100,000 fans. It was first played in 2004 and the school has hosted one in every subsequent season. This, however, will be the first season that there are two White Outs in Happy Valley. Typically, it’s held against one of the biggest preseason opponents on the schedule, meaning they’ve played 15 AP Top 25 opponents in the White Out, not counting the upcoming game against SMU. Penn State has a record of 12-8 and has won five straight White Outs.