Penn State finished the regular season with a dominant 44-7 victory over Maryland, and I was able to witness it live. I grew up roughly two hours away from the Nittany Lions’ home in State College, but this was my first time seeing them play in person. There are plenty of observations I made while inside Beaver Stadium, but the first one that sticks out is the news about a different game happening in neighboring Ohio.
Ohio State had a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game locked up, assuming they could beat a mediocre Michigan team at home. As I was making my way to the stadium, I saw that the game was tied at halftime 10-10. After finding my seat, I heard a loud cheer in unison coming from down in the concession areas.
I checked my phone to see that Michigan had indeed taken down Ohio State, meaning Penn State just needed a win over Maryland to earn a meeting with Oregon in the Big Ten title game. The energy was incredible from all over the stadium, and it continued into the senior day presentations.
Head coach [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] greeted each of his seniors as they announced their names and majors. It was a cool moment that reminds you that many of these players are students first, even at a blue blood like Penn State. The marching band and dancers were also very fun to see in person, and they were excellent even in the freezing temperatures.
The crowd was very large of course, but it was certainly not at full capacity. The announced attendance was around 104,000, but I would guess it was under 100,000 from my view. The student section was unfortunately pretty lackluster in this game, but the weather and underwhelming matchup likely had a lot to do with it.
The start of the game had some big reactions despite the smaller crowd than usual, with Penn State fumbling on the first drive and Maryland scoring on their first play of the game. The crowd was immediately on edge, especially knowing how important the game was with Ohio State’s loss. Penn State continued to have a slow start for the rest of the quarter, scoring just three points.
The second quarter, however, was electric. The crowd roared to life after [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] punched in a touchdown to take the lead, and that was just the beginning. Every third down from Maryland, the stadium would shake from the force of the crowd’s cheers. Each of Penn State’s four touchdown drives seemed to energize the crowd more and more, especially anytime record-breaking tight end [autotag]Tyler Warren[/autotag] was involved.
The second half started a bit quieter, with neither team doing much offensively in the third quarter. Backups began getting on the field for Penn State in the fourth, and many fans started heading for the exits once it became 38-7 early in the final quarter. Things got interesting late, with Penn State throwing a touchdown on the last play of the game.
The remaining fans loved it, and James Franklin strongly defended the decision in his postgame comments. It was an overall impressive showing by the team and an incredibly fun atmosphere to watch a football game. Outside of my experience in the stadium, seeing Penn State’s top players up close was also very rewarding.
[autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag]’s arm talent jumps off the screen at home, but it’s even more impressive live. [autotag]Abdul Carter[/autotag]’s explosiveness and agility are jaw-dropping in person as well, and he put it on display with a two-sack day. Tyler Warren looks even bigger and more imposing than he does on film. Overall, this team looks the part of a College Football Playoff contender.