It felt great to be back in Beaver Stadium Saturday after Penn State football snapped its undefeated streak on the road in the worst place in America Columbus, Ohio.

The Nittany Lions bounced back with a hard-fought 33-24 victory over Indiana. The game was tighter than many anticipated, and Penn State was grinding for most of its yards throughout the game, but Drew Allar and KeAndre Lambert-Smith found their footing and lit up the offense to roll to 7-1.

There was plenty going on within the Beaver Stadium confines on gameday aside from the rebound performance on the gridiron.

Penn State Celebrates Its Military Appreciation Game

This week, the Nittany Lions traded in Black Shoes, Basic Blues, No Names, All Game for Bold Stripes, Bright Stars, and Brave Hearts.

Penn State celebrated its annual Military Appreciation game Saturday, which featured patriotic pregame and halftime performances, a touching tribute by Kaden Saunders, and a military-inspired Nittany Lion wardrobe.

Penn State alums Lieutenant Colonel Gary Novack and Airman 1st Class Matthew C. Harbaugh were a part of the flyover crew that dazzled above Beaver Stadium, along with other members from the 193rd Special Operations Wing of the Air National Guard from Middletown, Pennsylvania.

The flyover took place ahead of the national anthem, and the crew was later recognized and honored on the field at a media timeout.

The Penn State Blue Band performed a handful of patriotic songs in its halftime performance titled “Land of the Free, Because of the Brave.” Songs included “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” and “Yankee Doodle” and a special a collaboration with the 28th Infantry Division Band.

The Nittany Lion rolled out a slate of hard-hitting military ‘fits, too. One might even call them bootylicious.

The Symbol of Our Best went to town with a performance of “Great Balls Of Fire” which included a Top Gun-inspired outfit, a cardboard piano, and cue cards for the student section to participate in the ballad.

Student Section: The Few, The Proud

It was a rough showing in the south end zone just ahead of kickoff.

The student section continued to fill out throughout the first quarter, and the lower bowl of the south end zone was mostly full at its peak. However, this was a sad sight right before the noon kick.

Looks like there were more students at downtown State College Champs at 7 a.m. this morning for a free breakfast than in the Beaver Stadium stands 5 minutes before kickoff pic.twitter.com/XXDUoMuRiX

— Mike Poorman (@PSUPoorman) October 28, 2023

Folks! We only have 24 games as students in Beaver Stadium. Soak them in. See you for Rutgers.

Kaden Saunders Honors Father

In the Nittany Lions’ pregame entrance, wide receiver Kaden Saunders ran out of the tunnel carrying an American flag and presented it to his father, Anthony, who served in the Army for 27 years.

The pair embraced at midfield and shared a few words before Anthony departed the field with the flag.

Halloween In Happy Valley

Students and fans dressed in blue-and-white garb showed up in droves on Saturday, but a few holiday appreciators rocked their Halloween costumes on gameday.

Penn State’s Halloween gameday highlights included a bunch of bananas and the Blue Man Group.

Connor Stalions Breaches Beaver Stadium

No sign is safe in Happy Valley these days.

One Penn State student pulled together a timely Halloween costume and dressed as Michigan football assistant Connor Stalions, who reportedly ran an elaborate sign-stealing and scouting operation that’s now being investigated by the NCAA.

Indiana’s sideline even shielded its signs throughout the game.

Penn State Women’s Soccer Is So Gritty

It was always Penn State women’s soccer.

Throughout James Franklin’s team’s battle in Beaver Stadium, Erica Dambach and Co. were hard at work a stone’s throw from the stadium preparing for their Big Ten Tournament opener against ~Indiana~.

Hard work paid off, and the Nittany Lions registered a 3-0 shutout of the Hoosiers Sunday to move on to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals.

There’s no such thing as a day off.

Shout out to @PennStateWSOC, which has been practicing throughout the whole game.

The Nittany Lions face Indiana (yes, Indiana) at Jeffrey Field at 1 p.m. tomorrow in the Big Ten quarterfinals. pic.twitter.com/2BOWlfKwPG

— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) October 28, 2023