Penn State gets a second chance at 2024 White Out Game after disappointing first attempt

There aren’t many bigger games than a first-round home game in the new expanded 12-team College Football Playoff, and with every big game at Beaver Stadium, James Franklin and Penn State are hitting the White Out button. Franklin called for “White Out energy” against Illinois and Ohio State, and now his program is running back the White Out for the second time this season for its Round 1 matchup against No. 11 seed SMU on December 21 at Noon ET. 

After falling to Oregon 45-37 in the Big Ten Championship Game, Penn State was awarded the No. 6 overall seed in the 12-team CFP. While seeds 1-4 come with a first-round bye, seeds 5-8 in the new format come with a home playoff game. The game presents, not just another shot for James Franklin to finally win a big game with his record against top 5 opponents now 1-14 after Saturday night, it’s another shot at the 2024 White Out after a disappointing saga. 

Penn State’s White Out is ideally reserved for the biggest game of the year, but FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff moved that game, against Ohio State, to the early afternoon slot, which forced the White Out to a week later against Washington. 

Well, Washington, which made a run to the national championship game a year ago, didn’t hold up its end of the bargain this season after head coach Kalen DeBoer left for Alabama and most of the roster left for the NFL, so the White Out became an afterthought. NBC, which had the rights to the game, hid it behind a paywall on Peacock, instead of giving it the primetime slot on network TV, that it deserved. Penn State rolled to a 35-6 win, but the entire spectacle lost its luster.  

This time, a noon kickoff isn’t going to stop Penn State. The White Out is back for the CFP and while I’ve been critical of the program’s White Out reliance any time a competitive opponent comes to town, this decision is justified. Penn State was gifted an ideal draw, with SMU and Boise State in its path to the CFP semifinal, so Franklin’s team can’t afford to trip itself up in Round 1. The White Out brings energy, not that a home playoff game wouldn’t, but if it can help put the crowd noise over the top, it’s a card worth playing when everything is on the line.