Can we stop hearing about “white out” games!

o_KWSUSMC said:

James Franklin — record vs ranked / top 10 opponents. So does he live up to his satirical moniker Big Game Franklin? YES!!!!

• Franklin is 4-21 vs AP Top-10 opponents during his Penn State tenure.
• Against “top-5” opponents, he is 1-15 (or something close to that depending on source).
• Against teams ranked in the top-6, he is 2-21.

Amen

At one point of that game I thought wow anyone could win this it’s really close, but then I remembered it was Penn St vs a top 10 team and switched back to the Bama game

I can’t believe Franklin has beaten 4 top 10 opponents. He beat OSU that one year. Rose Bowl win over Utah. I’m trying to think of the other 2. Boise State and SMU? Maybe Wisconsin was a top 10 team at one time.

As much as I don't care for Franklin, I thought it was pretty impressive how he went over to Allar after that pick and told him to get his "head up". That was an emotional game and he held his cool. Lanning looked like he was going through DTs during his interview lol

How is this not leading with the crown of the helmet and making forcible contact to the head or neck? The officiating “expert” said he lead with his “hairline”. Two weeks ago an Irish player was ejected for putting his face mask into a ball carriers shoulder! This extended a drive that led to critical points.

o_KWSUSMC said:

How is this not leading with the crown of the helmet and making forcible contact to the head or neck?

The real time explanation from the NBC crew was embarrassing. According to them, the focus was with the hairline, not with the crown, and therefore not targeting.

James Laurinaitis told me the 2005 white out at PSU was the craziest environment he’s ever seen and nothing else came close.

Maloy49 said:

James Laurinaitis told me the 2005 white out at PSU was the craziest environment he’s ever seen and nothing else came close.

For a Big Ten player, I would agree with this. OSU isn’t playing in SEC stadiums. Not many tough environments in the Big Ten besides PSU, OSU maybe Iowa and Wisconsin.

The way that poor kid’s head went back. Horrible.

I like the white out games, seems like it would be a great environment to watch a game.

o_KWSUSMC said:

How is this not leading with the crown of the helmet and making forcible contact to the head or neck? The officiating “expert” said he lead with his “hairline”. Two weeks ago an Irish player was ejected for putting his face mask into a ball carriers shoulder! This extended a drive that led to critical points.

When I saw that, I thought how did that Oregon player not fracture his neck or at minimum get a concussion. What seemed so stupid was the interpretation that the defender only hit him with the top front of the helmet but not with the crown so therefore no targeting.

SpaddyND said:

For a Big Ten player, I would agree with this. OSU isn’t playing in SEC stadiums. Not many tough environments in the Big Ten besides PSU, OSU maybe Iowa and Wisconsin.

If you are Ohio State, at Michigan is extremely tough.

Maloy49 said:

James Laurinaitis told me the 2005 white out at PSU was the craziest environment he’s ever seen and nothing else came close.

I get that…: and it looks really cool. But the results on the field for Pedo State aren’t all that special!

o_sjb75 said:

If you are Ohio State, at Michigan is extremely tough.

No it’s not. Not at all. The game is always at noon and Michigan has one of the lamest crowds in college football. You have never been to a game there and with that comment it shows. 25% of the fans at the game are OSU fans.

o_KWSUSMC said:

Penn State — White Out record (overall)

• In “official” White Out games, Penn State’s 13-9.
• Against “top-10” opponents in White Out games, Penn State is 2-5.
• Overall White Out: ~ 13–9
• White Out vs top-10: 2–5

I could not verify a reliable complete record just for White Out vs any ranked (beyond top-10) given available sources. James Franklin — record vs ranked / top 10 opponents. So does he live up to his satirical moniker Big Game Franklin? YES!!!!

• Franklin is 4-21 vs AP Top-10 opponents during his Penn State tenure.
• Against “top-5” opponents, he is 1-15 (or something close to that depending on source).
• Against teams ranked in the top-6, he is 2-21.

"White Out" games for Penn State are like a woman having a favorite outfit that makes her look fat and poorly dressed. She likes the outfit, so she keeps wearing it long after those around her notice and may have told her other outfits suit her better. As long as it leads to Franklin and Penn State losing and doesn't hurt women, children, and cuddly animals, I'm OK with it. James Franklin simply cannot win the games that matter against big-time competition. As ND fans we should be grateful of this, because a fair-sized chunk of the '26 recruiting class are from areas that trended toward Penn State in years past, including guys like McKeogh, Adams, and O'Brien. The fun part will be if ND can get some traction with Kemon Spell, because adding a running back of that talent to a class which already has a QB like Jarrard is how good teams bring in the last few pieces to become championship teams. Besides, taking a guy they likely think is theirs to lose from the Nittany Losers would be quite satisfying.

Amazing how the Refs hardly ever call Targetting any more these days.

NDHogan said:

Amazing how the Refs hardly ever call Targetting any more these days.

The whole point was supposed to be player safety. I don’t care what you call it, but call something because that was just horrible. Don’t give us BS about hairline and head of helmet and blah blah blah.

SpaddyND said:

No it’s not. Not at all. The game is always at noon and Michigan has one of the lamest crowds in college football. You have never been to a game there and with that comment it shows. 25% of the fans at the game are OSU fans.

A stadium that packs a 107k+ fans is never lame when OSU comes to AA.

dnett63 said:

A stadium that packs a 107k+ fans is never lame when OSU comes to AA.

And the recent results support what you are saying.

o_KWSUSMC said:

How is this not leading with the crown of the helmet and making forcible contact to the head or neck? The officiating “expert” said he lead with his “hairline”. Two weeks ago an Irish player was ejected for putting his face mask into a ball carriers shoulder! This extended a drive that led to critical points.

Usually, the team that gets away with those wins. But not that game. The refs call it like they want to. And 99% of the time get away with it.

o_KWSUSMC said:

Penn State — White Out record (overall)

• In “official” White Out games, Penn State’s 13-9.
• Against “top-10” opponents in White Out games, Penn State is 2-5.
• Overall White Out: ~ 13–9
• White Out vs top-10: 2–5

I could not verify a reliable complete record just for White Out vs any ranked (beyond top-10) given available sources. James Franklin — record vs ranked / top 10 opponents. So does he live up to his satirical moniker Big Game Franklin? YES!!!!

• Franklin is 4-21 vs AP Top-10 opponents during his Penn State tenure.
• Against “top-5” opponents, he is 1-15 (or something close to that depending on source).
• Against teams ranked in the top-6, he is 2-21.

I'm not a Penn State fan by any stretch, but I was at the White Out game when PSU crushed ND in Clausen's rookie year and it is indeed quite impressive ! The fact that Penn State has a so-so record in those games is irrelevant.

o_sjb75 said:

And the recent results support what you are saying.

Beaver Stadium is probably A-OK with Ryan Day and Dan Lanning because their teams don't lose when they play in Happy Valley. Let's just hope the brass at Penn State are happy with Franklin and don't decide to trade-up any time soon.

Bigteve79 said:

Beaver Stadium is probably A-OK with Ryan Day and Dan Lanning because their teams don't lose when they play in Happy Valley. Let's just hope the brass at Penn State are happy with Franklin and don't decide to trade-up any time soon.

I do not believe James Franklin is anywhere close to any kind of a hot seat at Penn State.