Penn State Coach James Franklin Teases Environment for Oregon Ducks Game

It's finally the week Oregon Ducks football faces their first real regular season test: a road game against the Penn State Nittany Lions, whose coach James Franklin spoke to his expectation for fans at their annual "White Out" game against the Ducks.

Sep 13, 2025; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin walks on the field prior to the game against the Villanova Wildcats at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

The No. 6 Oregon Ducks face their first real test of the season as coach Dan Lanning, starting quarterback Dante Moore, and crew travel to College Station, Pennsylvania, for their second road game, and first ever "White Out" game at Beaver Stadium, against No. 3 Penn State.

With ESPN's College GameDay confirming their visit to Penn State, this matchup is sure to show which Big Ten Conference team can handle the heat, especially during one of the most iconic game themes to play in for FBS college football.

Penn State coach James Franklin spoke further on Monday about the environment he hopes Nittany Lions fans can create as the Ducks fly East for their Saturday showdown.

Nov 9, 2024; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Fireworks burst overhead as the Penn State Nittany Lions take the field prior to a White Out game against the Washington Huskies at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Franklin Calls for "Tremendous Opportunity"

"Tremendous challenge. Tremendous opportunity. Obviously, we need this place rockin'. We need to have a distinct home field advantage, we always do. I'm expecting this to be an environment like no one has ever seen," Franklin said.

"Urban Meyer always has, kind of, discussions and debates on what's the hardest place to play in college football," Franklin added. "I think he usually says between Penn State white out at night and LSU night games. So we want to make it clearly obvious to everybody what is the most challenging and difficult environment to play in in all of sports, let alone college football."

Sep 6, 2025; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin during the second quarter against the Florida International Panthers at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Some History Behind the White Out

The Penn State white out officially cemented itself as a tradition in 2005 when the Nittany Lions won against the Ohio State Buckeyes 17-10. That game was the second largest in home game history for Penn State, which was considered by the program as a factor in their victory.

Penn State's Beaver Stadium has a capacity of 106,572, while Autzen Stadium boasts a capacity of 54,000 (though they regularly go over said capacity, like this year's Oregon State game hosting over 57,000 fans).

In the past ten years, Penn State has only lost three times during a white out game. Half of their wins came against ranked teams, all of their losses came from ranked teams.

Weirdly enough, all three losses in the past ten years for Penn State during their white out games involved the opposing team wearing all white uniforms. But, don't think an all-white uniform superstition is rock solid, as Penn State's 2005 white out win came against the Buckeyes as they wore all white.

Penn State fans cheer on the Nittany Lions before playing Iowa in a White Out football game at Beaver Stadium Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023, in State College, Pa. | Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK

Penn State White Out Game Results from 2014-2024

- 2014: LOSS to No. 13 Ohio State, 24-31 in 2OT
- 2015: LOSS to No. 14 Michigan, 42-13
- 2016: WIN against No. 2 Ohio State, 24-21
- 2017: WIN against No. 19 Michigan, 42-13
- 2018: LOSS to No. 4 Ohio State, 26-27
- 2019: WIN against No. 16 Michigan, 28-21
- 2020: No white out game due to COVID pandemic.
- 2021: WIN against No. 22 Auburn, 28-20
- 2022: WIN against Minnesota, 45-17
- 2023: WIN against Washington, 35-6
- 2024: WIN against No. 10 SMU (CFP Playoffs 1st round), 38-10

MORE: ESPN's College GameDay Reveals Week 5 Location

MORE: What Oregon State Coach Trent Bray Said After Loss to Oregon Ducks

MORE: Biggest Winners, Losers From Oregon Ducks' Rivalry Victory Over Oregon State

The only appropriate uniform for this weekend is the storm trooper. I don't even know if we have white helmets anymore. https://t.co/7AsWVRrZA3

— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) September 21, 2025

Oregon Ducks Make Bold Statement with White "Mummy Duck" Cleats for Penn State Game

Released on Sunday following Oregon's field debut of the "Shoe Duck" Phil Knight tribute uniforms, the "Mummy Duck" Nike Vaporposite cleats feature an all white base with a black Nike swoosh, light green glow-in-the-dark stripes mimicking bandages on the sides, a green heel and toe cleat tread addition, distressed fabric behind appliques, and a mummy version of The Duck on the cleats' tongue. In the dark, the cleats glow a neon green looking like bandages.

With the release of the "Mummy Duck," many fans are hoping the Ducks wear their "Generation O" all-white "Warp Speed" uniforms or the "Storm Trooper" all-white uniforms from collections past to commemorate the white out theme.