No. 3 Penn State football has its first true test of the season on Sept. 27 against No. 6 Oregon. The Nittany Lions (3-0) scheduled their White Out theme for the Week 5 contest that has kickoff slated for 7:30 p.m. ET. The energy of a night game with a sea of avid Penn State fans is brewing more than excitement, it apparently called for a change in footwear.
The Ducks (4-0) revealed their latest cleat design that features an all white Nike shoe with their logo stitched onto the tongue. Joining in on the White Out fun isn't all, though. Oregon wanted to make their colors shine through too. When the lights go out, glow-in-the-dark green stripes appear as well as the laces and bottom of the shoe popping out in color.
Oregon released a video showing new white cleats that glow in the dark, presumably for the White Out.
— Joel Haas (@Joel_Haas1) September 21, 2025
pic.twitter.com/wROFBL9drw
It seems like an edgy idea upfront, but when Penn State fans thought about it just half a second longer, they realized the hilariousness of it all. The Ducks may have thought that with all the stadium renovations going on, maybe the lights won't work and they'll be forced to play in the dark on Saturday night.
Wasn't aware they were playing in the dark this week.
— Doug (@dougisright) September 22, 2025
On the other hand, maybe Oregon just forgot that the stadium lights will, in fact, be up and running. After all, it is the White Out game, and having all the lights off defeats the purpose of the theme entirely.
So in order to debut the Ducks' latest fashion choice, Penn State will have to cut all electricity to see the cleats in action. Some fans even suggested that Oregon is more prepared for a game of laser tag than it is football.
They do have lights in Happy Valley, not sure why they need glow shoes like they playing laser tag
— Mike Scatena (@MikeScatena) September 22, 2025
While some fans took the opportunity to run with the joke, others thought of it as a response to the pregame show. Before kickoff, Nittany Lions fans can download the Penn State Athletics app and use the "Lions Lights" feature to synchronize their phone flashlight with the music in the pregame video while the fireworks display shoots into the sky.
During night games at Beaver Stadium the lights dim and 100k+ fans raise their cell phone flashlights creating a sea of lights. Nice response
— Mark E (@HTPPSUWVU) September 22, 2025
The glow-in-the-dark feature of the cleats may get its moment in the spotlight for a few minutes or so, but the excitement of the stadium during the pregame video and fireworks display will more than likely take away from any sort of gimmicks the Ducks have planned. As much as they try to swing momentum in their favor, glow-in-the-dark cleats won't take away from the fact that the entirety of Beaver Stadium will be flooded in favor of the blue and white.