A chat with my State College counterpart: Is this a rivalry in the making?

One of the best — and most intimidating — things about working at The Athletic from 2018 to 2021 was having some of the best college-football beat writers in the country as co-workers.

I was still pretty young and the inferiority complex was running strong as writers produced compelling, creative content daily.

Audrey Snyder was always my favorite. 

Audrey has covered Penn State since 2010 and mixes expertise and wit in a way that is second to none. With No. 6 Oregon playing No. 3 Penn State this week, I could think of no one better to help give us a feel for what the Ducks are getting into.

Audrey now runs her own independent site: Inside the Lions. Here are her written answers on the White Out, Penn State’s running game, James Franklin and more.

1. Penn State finally put together the type of program that has a real shot of emerging from the Ohio State/Michigan shadow in the Big Ten — right as Oregon joined the conference to add another real layer of competition. How does PSU view Oregon? Are they a welcome rival? I can’t imagine Franklin wants to hear Oregon’s band playing again anytime soon.

Snyder: I think there’s a lot of fascination with the Ducks. Penn State is unique in that its rivalry with Pitt has essentially disappeared and won’t be coming back, thanks to the nine-game conference schedule. Penn State wants to think of Ohio State as a rival, but of course, Ohio State has Michigan.

Despite joining the Big Ten in 1993, Penn State is still a bit of an outsider in that it doesn’t have that rivalry with anyone. I don’t think Oregon is or will ever become that, but I do think there is intrigue in how they operate, obviously as Nike’s darling. (Penn State is switching to adidas on July 1.) Penn State has the most basic uniforms and prides itself on that and yet Oregon has a million different combinations.

I’ve never been to Eugene, just like I’m sure many Ducks fans probably haven’t been to State College. I’m curious to get out there for sure, and I feel like I almost know Oregon from watching the Ducks in so many high-profile games on TV over the years. I imagine some Oregon fans probably think of Penn State in a similar way.

2. For our readers who have heard “White Out” all week, how would you best describe what Oregon and traveling UO fans will experience this weekend? 

Get ready for a spectacle. I’m born and raised in PA (about three hours away from State College) but don’t come from a Penn State family. I really had no concept of this whole White Out thing until going to college in 2008. Going to the game as a student, you’d see all the storefronts downtown the week leading up to the game decked out with mannequins wearing white.

It started as self-defense because Penn State crowds were really reserved. There wasn’t this big home-field advantage. The White Out began in the student section in 2004 with the idea that if students all wear a white T-shirt, they’ll be more compelled to be rowdy because they won’t stand out.

The idea came well ahead of social media, and Penn State’s marketing team at the time had student interns going into dining halls and dorms telling students to wear white. They’d have people with bullhorns downtown, too. They had students holding signs as fans left the parking lot the week before the first all-stadium White Out in 2007 vs. Notre Dame. Getting 100,000-plus people to wear white worked. And now, this is Penn State’s thing and fans are super proud of it — as they should be.

The White Out game is the marquee game every year. It’s the one everyone wants to be at — regardless of opponent. Getting it to line up with a night game so the White Out look really pops (Big Noon is not well-received around here) and with an elite opponent like Oregon is the perfect scenario for Penn State.

It’s become a college football bucket-list item for many fans. If you’re coming here for the game, enjoy a fun tailgate scene (seriously, check out the RV lot across the street from Beaver Stadium) and make sure you’re in the stadium well before kick (entry lines can be a challenge). When they do the pump-up video before the teams run out – as much as Oregon fans don’t need to enjoy it – I think they will appreciate the spectacle of the White Out. Many opposing fans leave and say, “Yeah, that was cool and it was loud.”

(Also: please be aware that traffic leaving the stadium after night games is a mess. It’s a small town with only so many ways in and out. You might sit for two hours just getting out of the parking lot.)

3. Oregon has looked good, but we still don’t know about the peak of this team,  because there are so many young players unproven against high-level competition. How does Penn State compare in that sense? It’s a more veteran squad than Oregon, but they haven’t played anyone either.

Yes, I overlooked Nevada, FIU and Villanova, or the parade of cupcakes as I call it. Penn State is different in that they are running back most of the roster they had last year that was minutes away from playing for a national championship. 

They’ve overhauled the receiving corps with three transfer portal additions: Kyron Hudson from USC, Trebor Peña from Syracuse and Devonte Ross from Troy. All three have looked like an upgrade over last year’s group, despite this coming in nonconference play. I don’t question how those three will look against Oregon as much as I wonder if senior quarterback Drew Allar can break out of this funk that he’s been in during these last two games.

There have been lulls for this offense against FIU and Villanova that simply shouldn’t have happened. James Franklin said Allar was overthinking against FIU and said running back Nick Singleton has been doing the same as he tries to play perfect. If you just look at the box score, it looks like everything is fine, but watching those games, there for sure were some questions raised.

On paper, Penn State’s offense has the talent. They need Allar and Singleton to step up, which is not at all what I expected to be writing heading into this game. Penn State has who I believe is a shutdown cornerback in A.J. Harris, but he hasn’t been tested yet this season. Look for Penn State’s secondary to play more zone coverage this time around after they played a lot of man in the Big Ten title game and got burned at times doing so. 

4. In the Big Ten title game, Penn State rushed for nearly 300 yards. Do they view that as the same recipe for success going into this rematch?

I think they should. Kaytron Allen and Singleton are viewed as co-starters. Penn State tried to force feed Singleton against Villanova to get him going, and it didn’t work as Allen outperformed him once again. Allen is averaging over 8 yards per carry. He’s more elusive and faster now than he’s ever been after finally having a full offseason where he’s been healthy. What Penn State should do is commit to running the ball with Allen.

I’m not so sure they will do that, though. They’ve done this in the past, too, where they’ll have success on the ground and then abandon it. 

5. What do you find fascinating about James Franklin here in his 12th year leading the program? 

The process for Franklin and his program doesn’t change whether it’s Villanova or Oregon. I know all coaches say it, but that’s exactly how this team operates. They buy into the process of improvement. Last week’s idle week was also about making corrections, resting and gearing up for this. That mentality of not overlooking any opponent starts with Franklin. 

I also get the sense that Franklin is much more relaxed and comfortable this season. I’ve covered him since the day he arrived in town and he seems different to me now in that regard. Maybe it was because of the schedule, or maybe he just knows this team is super talented. I don’t know. But, he’s a fascinating guy.

I sat down with him this offseason and recently wrote a feature about how he started his coaching career in 1996 as a player-coach in the Danish American Football Federation. Hearing from people who played with him then, back when he lived with a host family and laid asphalt in Denmark during the day, just shows that this guy isn’t afraid of rolling up his sleeves and putting in the work.

The same has held true here as he’s built a program that was still dealing with NCAA sanctions when he was hired. This season is all about seeing if Penn State can finally get to that next level and compete for a national championship.