Why is There No White Out for The Penn State vs. Ohio State Football Game?
Penn State will host the biggest home game of Week 10 in the 2024 college football season.
Who do they play? The only Big Ten team with a realistic chance to challenge the No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes, with major effects on the Big Ten Championship and College Football Playoff.
This game is ranked in the top five and has all the characteristics of Penn State’s annual White Out game, per the US LBM Coaches Poll. Traditionally, Penn State has hosted Ohio State for a White Out five times in the tradition.
Meanwhile, in 2024, undefeated Nittany Lions are preparing for Buckeyes’ visit to Happy Valley and Beaver Stadium.
Is Penn State vs. Ohio State a White Out game?
The Penn State vs. Ohio State game this 2024 season is not a White Out, but this Saturday’s game is supposed to be just as hyped. A number of fans have voiced their disappointments over the fact that the game is neither a White Out nor a night game.
Why isn’t Penn State-Ohio State a White Out?
The Penn State-Ohio State Big Ten showdown this Saturday will not be a White Out game for the Nittany Lions because of TV broadcast rights.
Although Penn State-Buckeyes was locked into the week a week ago, the game was thought to be a candidate to go to Fox for its “Big Noon Kickoff” in Week 10, rather than the 3:30 PM ET slot CBS had or the 7:30 PM ET slot NBC had. At this stage in the college football calendar, kickoff times and broadcast details are not finalized until the week of the game.
Audrey Snyder with The Athletic reported that Saturday’s game didn’t rank in the top four picks in the “Network College Football Draft.”
In an interview with The Athletic, Fox’s President of Insights and Analytics, Mike Mulvihill said this game was fifth on our list when we had three in a row, and he was pretty adamant it wasn’t gonna fall below eighth. “That would’ve been unfair.” With the way the draft was going, we knew we had to make a move.
He said, “It is our obligation to make sure that the schools we partner with receive a great deal of exposure.” Bringing that into the schools we partner with would be beneficial for both Fox and the programs. Over the past six years, we have found that by airing some of our best games at noon will receive the most viewership.
What is White Out?
It’s straightforward: all the fans in the stadium wear white.
Though “White Out” events are common in college football and other sports, Penn State has made it a signature annual event on its schedule. The Nittany Lions choose their biggest home game of the year-often against a top-ranked opponent-to turn Beaver Stadium into one of the more inhospitable atmospheres in college football.
Beaver Stadium ranked as the number six toughest venue to compete at in EA Sports College Football 25.
Here is a list of uniform rules and expected practices:
—> Team members playing for different teams shall wear jerseys that are different in color; team members playing for the same team shall wear jerseys of the same color and identical design.
—> Visiting team should wear white jerseys, but in that case, the home team can wear white if this color is agreed to in writing in advance of the season.
—> The visiting team can wear colored jerseys when the home team wears colored one.
—> The written approval must be forwarded by the hosting team in advance of the game.
—> League in which the home team participating must confirm that the jersey color worn by the visiting team provides an appropriate contrasting.
—> Any team wearing a colored jersey against the conditions at the beginning of each half is an unsportsmanlike act.
Penn State shall wear its prescribed uniform for contests at sites other than its home stadium and shall not wear its white home uniform. Such a requirement shall be stipulated in the official stats, according to Section 4, Article 5, Paragraph 3 of the NCAA Football Rulebook.
What date is Penn State’s 2024 White Out Football Game?
The Nittany Lions have announced their annual White Out game for the 2024 season against their newly announced Big Ten opponent, Washington, will be next week. There has also been no word from the Big Ten network on the schedule of games and broadcast details.
According to a report from The York Daily Report last year, Penn State is 9-6 all-time in full-stadium White Out games and 11-8 overall, including student-section-only White Outs.
This will mark the first meeting between the two programs since Penn State topped Washington 35-28 in the 2017 Fiesta Bowl. Penn State is currently 3-0 against Washington in the all-time series according to the PSU media guide.
In July Penn State revealed the date and opponent for the White Out Game, and game-day themes for all the 2024 football season.
