Sept. 20, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ââ'¬" Few things in sports compare to the atmosphere when the lights come on inside Beaver Stadium.
From start to finish, the Nittany Lion faithful left its mark in willing Penn State (2-1, 1-0) to a dominant 28-3 victory over Rutgers (1-2, 0-1) in the 2015 Big Ten opener on Saturday.
Give a game ball to the fans for their efforts on tremendous night in Happy Valley.
"The environment was unbelievable. I was told that before the game even started," said head coach James Franklin. "This is one of the main reasons that make Penn State so special, the type of support we get from this community and I want to thank everybody."
The fans executed the first Penn State Stripe Out to perfection. The visual effect was impressive, and the coaches and players on the field took note of the fan effort to coordinate colors to ensure that each section alternated between blue and white.
"The stripe out was awesome. I want to congratulate them," said linebacker Brandon Bell. "They are a huge factor for us. And we want them to keep it up."
While the stadium looked the part, it was the vocal encouragement that set Saturday night apart. Tabbed as the nation's top student section by numerous media outlets, the Penn State students brought their 'A' game in an unrivaled atmosphere for college football.
"They do such a good job for our program," said linebacker Jason Cabinda said. "I think the fans had so much to do with the win tonight."
The students make life miserable for opposing teams when the ball is snapped on the south end of the stadium. Rutgers was whistled for a false start on its first offensive play in the shadows of the south goal post. It can be hard to hear yourself think, let alone execute a snap count.
"It's hard to play in Beaver Stadium for our opponents," said linebacker Jason Cabinda. "They had a lot of trouble communicating on third down. You could really see it. The fans do such a good job of being crazy."
Beaver Stadium had plenty to cheer about on Saturday night. The Nittany Lions tallied 471 yards of offense behind 330 rushing yards. True freshman Saquon Barkley again dazzled in a 195-yard, two-touchdown effort for the Lions. Junior Akeel Lynch averaged 12 yards a carry and notched 120 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown run.
"We have high standards in the running back room, but the guys up front made it a lot easier on us," said Lynch. "They opened up the holes, and we just had to finish the runs."
Defensively, the Lions allowed the fewest number of points in a Big Ten game since 2011. Rutgers managed just 43 net rushing yards on 32 rushing attempts (1.9 ypc).
"I thought our defense once again played well, made them earn it," said Franklin. "I thought we called a good game from that perspective instead of worrying about statistics. We played cover two and were able to stop the run and stop big plays."
Coach Franklin made it a point to recognize punter Chris Gulla a with the team in the locker room for his work ethic leading up to Saturday's game. Despite being the No. 2 punter on the depth chart throughout camp, Gulla practiced and prepared like a starter. Given the opportunity on Saturday night, Gulla averaged 41.0 yards on five punts and had all five of his kicks downed inside the 20.
Penn State has rushed for more than 200 yards in back-to-back games for the first time since 2009. There is plenty of room for growth, but the Nittany Lions are beginning to play with great confidence. Saturday's win was a complete team effort ââ'¬" offense, defense, special teams and the crowd.
"This is good momentum for us heading into the next couple weeks and then the bulk of our Big Ten schedule," cornerback Jordan Lucas said. "We did a lot of good work today, but the thing is, we can get a lot better.