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Penn State football returned to Beaver Stadium for the third straight game on Saturday for a 21-7 victory over then-No. 19 Illinois. What was originally scheduled as the Homecoming game turned into a makeshift “White Out…energy” game as fans filled the stadium dressed head to toe in white.

From your alumni friends making their return to new toys around Beaver Stadium, here’s what we noticed at Saturday’s game.

White Out…Energy

You can’t talk about Saturday’s game without talking about the “White Out…energy” the fans brought for four quarters. While James Franklin wasn’t allowed to say ***** Out due to contractual obligations, Penn Staters still got the message and showed out in their favorite color.

The Nittany Lions know how to make an entrance pic.twitter.com/lHQ9GbbStV

— Onward State (@OnwardState) September 29, 2024

Penn State got 109,911 fans into Beaver Stadium on Saturday, though there were empty seats in some of the nosebleeds. Regardless, the fans wearing white forced a few false starts and timeouts.

Here’s some food for thought: Between the ~ official ~ White Out, the Helmet Stripe, and the “White Out…energy” game, the Nittany Lions are essentially putting together three White Outs this year. Add in a potential home College Football Playoff game, and that’s four.

With UCLA acting as the Stripe Out game on Saturday, the student section will wear white for at least four games, five with a playoff game. Considering the Nittany Lions only play seven home regular-season games, that’s a lot of white.

Beaver Stadium Renovations Keep On Coming

Beaver Stadium saw the latest of its upgrades become functional ahead of Saturday’s game, as the stadium’s escalators got up and running. The escalators, which sit at the corners of the stadium, are designed to improve accessibility that the long, runway-esque ramps just can’t.

Chatted with a Penn State alum from the class of 1970 who said the new escalators were a “huge” upgrade for her.

People seem to be flowing pretty well through the concourses, something we haven’t seen often especially for night games pic.twitter.com/dpp90dNM87

— Audrey Snyder (@audsnyder4) September 28, 2024

While there weren’t too many students using the escalators, The Athletic’s Audrey Snyder said the fans who did use the escalators left happy with the experience as fans got to the top levels in a timely fashion for the 7:30 p.m. kickoff.

Welcome Home, Alumni

From Onward State’s own Matt Brown to alumni of all ages, Penn Staters made their return trips to Happy Valley over the weekend. Saturday’s game, which featured the typical Homecoming fair, concluded the week-long celebration that climaxed with the Homecoming Parade and Guard the Lion Shrine events on Friday night.

On the field, Penn State had plenty of Homecoming recognition. The Nittany Lions wore their “Generations of Greatness” uniforms, featuring numbers on helmets and font changes for the whole uniform.

Additionally, the Alumni Blue Band made its annual performance and helped the Blue Band with performances of ABBA at halftime.

Welcome Home, 1994 Team

In addition to the masses of alumni back for the weekend, Penn State honored its 1994 football team, which was infamously snubbed for a national title in favor of Nebraska despite finishing the season undefeated.

The Nittany Lions of the past were honored on the field at halftime while Ki-Jana Carter delivered a resounding “We Are” in front of the student section. However, some folks had concerns that Penn State rushed the introduction of one of the best teams in the school’s history.

Second straight year #PSU has failed to introduce an unbeaten team individually. Guys travel from all over to come back — for a video and group wave? Last year it was the 1973 team that got the rushed treatment. Who all showed this time? How would we know? Inexcusable.

— Neil Rudel (@NeilRudel) September 29, 2024

Beaver Stadium Dodges Rain, Again

For all four of the Nittany Lions games this season, rain has at least threatened the fans in the stadiums. However, at home, Penn State has dodged rain and lighting delays against Bowling Green, Kent State, and Illinois. While rain raged in the area in the days leading up to the game and is expected in the days following, fans in Beaver Stadium didn’t have to deal with much precipitation.

Just wait until UCLA gets here. Big Ten weather.