Penn State's Beaver Stadium lands outside the top two SEC venues in a new ranking, despite its celebrated whiteout spectacle.
Penn State's Beaver Stadium didn't have much magic during the 2025 season.
The Nittany Lions' campaign unraveled quickly after a 30-24 loss to Oregon in overtime. PSU fired head coach James frankly promptly after losing to Northwestern at Beaver Stadium on Oct. 11.
New head coach Matt Campbell isn't a big fan of spring exhibition games, but he wanted to do some sort of activity for a Blue-White spring game so he can give his roster, full of Iowa State transfers, a chance to experience a home crowd at Beaver Stadium before the fall.
That might be a wise move for Campbell.
Still, the capacity crowd of 106,304 should be a benefit to the team this fall.
During his show on Thursday, Josh Pate argued that Beaver Stadium is the third-toughest stadium for opposing teams to play at. He ranked PSU as the toughest in the Big Ten, but behind Tennessee's Neyland Stadium and LSU's Tiger Stadium.
With that being said, Pate thinks whiteout games are the best "spectacle" in college football.
“Numero trace, Penn State," Pate said. "Under construction right now, Penn State, Beaver Stadium, I think the whiteout there is the most amazing spectacle we have to offer in college football.
"And since college football is the best sport on the face of the earth, by default, the whiteout at Penn State is the best spectacle in all of sports, confirmed."
Pate said Penn State fans do it better than other fan bases.
"Above and beyond just the volume, the volumes off the charts, there was this other element and the best way I could describe it... like a hundred and six thousand, called a hundred and ten, standing room only.
“So like a hundred and ten thousand people who just perfectly accept that they have a role to play and there's like, there's no wasted seat, there's no wasted space in there."
Penn State will host seven home games in 2026, including its opener against Marshall on Sept. 5.
PSU has a mostly favorable schedule, but will host a few key games at Beaver Stadium, including USC on Oct. 10.