Topics

More

Game Day Observations: Indiana

It was the perfect storm for irrelevance. A meaningless game in the national scene, a noon kickoff, and the weekend before Thanksgiving break had many people writing this game off. But as it turned out, it was one of the most newsworthy games of the year after senior leader Michael Mauti went down with a season ending injury.

Here are my observations from the stands:

  • Penn State was extremely unlucky this season to have two games during the Thanksgiving break. There’s always a cry for students to stay late and come back early, but the reality is that many students are apathetic or would rather spend another day at home than in the stands of Beaver Stadium. As such, student attendance for these games is usually sparse, although I was impressed with the number of students who stayed for Indiana. The student section wasn’t anywhere near full, but it was a lot fuller than I think most people anticipated.
  • As is usually the case, to make up for the lack of crowd noise, the stadium music overcompensates and it ends up being a disaster. DJ Kid AV tweeted as much after the game:

Of course there were the same tracks we’ve been hearing (and complaining about) all year played at seemingly random times with random excerpts.

  • The most excited students got all game was when the Lady Gaga concert was announced for the first time on the scoreboard. It was like every female reached for their cell phone at the same time to text their friends about buying tickets (which, by the way, go on sale next Friday).
  • It was absolutely horrifying and deathly silent when Michael Mauti went down. I think everyone knew it was going to be bad when he didn’t get back up after 10 seconds.
  • The Zordich/Mauti handshake was touching on the way off the field.

  • What more is there to say? It was Indiana at noon on Thanksgiving break.

We’ll be back for our final installment of observations on Saturday for what will certainly be an emotional Senior Night.

Your ad blocker is on.

Please choose an option below.

Sign up for our e-mail newsletter:
OR
Support quality journalism:
Purchase a Subscription!

About the Author

Kevin Horne

Kevin Horne was the editor of Onward State from 2012-2014 and currently holds the position of Managing Editor Emeritus, which is a fake title he made up. He graduated from Penn State with degrees journalism and political science in 2014 and is currently seeking his J.D. at the Penn State Dickinson School of Law. A third generation Penn Stater from Williamsport, Pa., Kevin is also the president of the graduate student government. Email: [email protected]

Nick Singleton Surging Ahead Of Big Ten Championship

The junior back had a rough five-game mid-season stretch. Now, he’s back to 100% and is ready for a conference title.

Analyzing Post-Maryland Reactions For Penn State Football

That’s all for the 2024 regular season, folks.

Official Penn State Big Ten Championship Merch Now On Sale

Family Clothesline and the Big Ten store released merch ahead of the title game.

113kFollowers
164kFollowers
62.7kFollowers
4,570Subscribers
Sign up for our Newsletter
Other posts by Kevin

Hometown Brewery Releases Beer Honoring Evan Pugh

Penn State’s first president Evan Pugh was born in 1828 at Jordan Bank Farm, three miles south of the city center of Oxford, Pennsylvania, an hour west of Philadelphia in Chester County. One-hundred eighty-nine years later, an Oxford brewery is honoring one of the preeminent champions of “liberal and practical” higher education in the form of a delicious Porter.

Penn State Basketball Downs Colgate 72-59 In Front of Thanksgiving Eve Crowd

Why Honoring Paterno Still Matters