Penn State’s White Out is known as one of the best environments in all of sports, and with under 100 days until Week 1 kicks off, it’s nearly time for it to pick its opponent for the annual theme.
The Nittany Lions’ home schedule saw a bit of a drop off in level for 2025, leaving just two viable opponents for the White Out — Oregon and Indiana.
Oregon
Penn State found itself back in the Big Ten championship for the first time since 2016 last season, but it ran into then-No. 1 Oregon and fell to its new conference foe in a 45-37 thriller.
The Nittany Lions will get their chance at revenge, when the Ducks travel to Happy Valley on Sept. 27. The contest marks the first Big Ten game on Penn State’s schedule, and with Oregon slated to be one of the top teams in the country yet again, it should be the easy choice for the White Out.
Of course, television deals make picking an opponent for the highly-anticipated spectacle all that more difficult. Fox reportedly has first pick at three Big Ten matchups for 2025, and the network has already chosen Texas at Ohio State as one of them.
Other notable conference games include Penn State at Ohio State and the Buckeyes’ annual rivalry matchup against Michigan, but the Nittany Lions’ contest against Oregon is likely also in contention for one of the two remaining automatic Big Noon Kickoff slots.
Penn State defensive players attempt to block an extra point kick during the Big Ten championship football game between Penn State and Oregon in Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024 in Indianapolis, Ind. The Ducks beat the Nittany Lions 45-37.
Kate Hildebrand
If Fox keeps its hands off the coveted Big Ten championship rematch, NBC would likely pick the game up as its primetime matchup for that week, making Penn State’s White Out choice a no-brainer.
But there’s still the possibility NBC opts to broadcast a different game that week, even though most of the options aren’t appealing outside of Ohio State at Washington. In that case, Fox would snatch Oregon at Penn State for Big Noon.
Even if that happened, however, it’s still the clear choice for the spectacle. The Happy Valley faithful showed during the Nittany Lions’ College Football Playoff matchup against SMU that noon White Outs can work, and they’re going to have to if the university wants fans in the stands throughout the contest going forward.
Last season, Penn State picked Washington as its White Out opponent. It seemed like a good pick considering the success the Huskies had in 2023, but it ended horribly — the game was only broadcast on Peacock, was over by halftime and the stands had emptied out by the middle of the third quarter.
The Nittany Lions should be careful to not make the same mistake by picking a game featuring a team that did well in 2024 but is set for a drop off in 2025. Selecting Oregon is a no-brainer, and should be done whether the game kicks off at noon or 7:30 p.m.
Indiana
White Out games belong at night, and while Oregon is expected to be Penn State’s best home opponent, there’s a chance that game will be featured on Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff.
Not only are the Ducks a first-time conference opponent for the Nittany Lions this season, but this matchup projects as the best Big Ten game on Sept. 27, and it’s even the rematch of last season’s Big Ten Championship. All these reasons make it seem like this game will be picked by Fox.
As such, the best opponent for the White Out would be Indiana on Nov. 8. With Fox reportedly getting first choice at three games for its noon slot this upcoming season, it’s very hard to imagine that Penn State-Indiana would be one of them.
Michigan wide receiver Peyton O’Leary, left, reaches for a first down while being tackled by Indiana linebacker Aiden Fisher during the second half of an NCAA college football game in Bloomington, Ind., Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
AJ MAST
Even if Penn State-Indiana is available once Fox gets its turn in the pecking order for Nov. 8 games, Oregon at Iowa and Washington at Wisconsin — both of which are first-time Big Ten matchups — are also playing that Saturday, so there’s some other quality options to pick over the Nittany Lions’ game.
While Indiana might not project as Penn State’s best home opponent, it’s still a good-enough matchup that’s worthy of a White Out.
The Hoosiers are coming off of an 11-2 campaign last season, which included a berth in the College Football Playoff. They made some key additions to attempt to replace the production lost from last year’s squad, like bringing in Cal transfer quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
Looking ahead to 2025, Indiana’s win total over/under is set at 8.5, according to FanDuel. Prior to their game against Penn State, the Hoosiers’ notable opponents are Illinois, Iowa and Oregon.
It’s possible Indiana will come into Happy Valley with just one loss, and if that happens, it would be expected that Indiana is ranked. Even if they have two losses, the Hoosiers could still be in the tail end of the top 25, and a Big Ten opponent with a 7-2 record is, by no means, a pushover.
Indiana isn’t Oregon, but it still offers the Nittany Lions a quality home opponent with a better chance of the game being played at night.
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Update: 247 Sports’ Mark Brennan reported that Fleming has since been released from the hospital.
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