Each season, there seems to be a game with year-long anticipation from a fanbase. For Penn State, the game is normally against Michigan or Ohio State in November. This season, the game that Penn State fans have been waiting for all season is against Ohio State on November 2. What makes a game a “big game” though?

When finding which games are the biggest ever, common variables need to be considered:

• What are the implications for the game?
• What’s the national attention for the game?
• How talented are each of the teams competing?

There have been many games played in Beaver Stadium, and with the historical success of the Nittany Lions, it will be difficult to find just five to call the “biggest.” Let’s take a look at what games can make an argument using the variables listed above.

Honorable Mentions: 2023 vs. No. 3 Michigan, 2011 vs. Illinois, 2002 vs. No. 8 Nebraska, 2005 vs. No. 6 Ohio State

Each of these four games has as much of a reason to be in the top five as the games ahead of them. There may be a variable from each of these games holding it back slightly and why they’re on the outside looking in.

No. 5. 2019 vs. No. 16 Michigan

The “Mo Bamba” game.

To this day, there has not been a louder moment in Beaver Stadium history than the opening play of the game when fans caused Jim Harbaugh to use a timeout. This play is still viral five years since it happened and gave Beaver Stadium much more recognition as one of the toughest environments in college football.

The White Out brought College GameDay back into town and had Lara Spencer as its guest picker on HUB Lawn.

Penn State was still undefeated going into this game, so after the 28-21 win, its path to the playoff was still fully intact.

4. 2017 vs. No. 19 Michigan

“Saquon Barkley, say bye-bye!”

That famous call from Rece Davis during Barkley’s 69-yard rushing touchdown is what many people remember vividly from this game.

Barkley was in the midst of a Heisman Trophy campaign, and another big game helped his case. The Nittany Lions ran the Wolverines out of the stadium with a 42-13 win.

Penn State was ranked No. 2 in the country at the time of the 2017 White Out, so winning against ranked Michigan would play a big part in their playoff hopes that season. Unfortunately, the Nittany Lions lost their next two games, killing their chances.

College GameDay stopped in for the game and had Penn State football legend Ki-Jana Carter on set to be the guest picker.

This game brought in the fourth-highest attendance in Beaver Stadium history with 110,823 fans.

3. 2016 vs. No. 2 Ohio State

The single greatest upset in Beaver Stadium history. Many people claim that this win over Ohio State is what brought the Nittany Lions back into the national spotlight.

The Nittany Lions had their backs against the wall in the fourth quarter being down 14 points, but the famous blocked field goal by Marcus Allen and returned by Grant Haley gave Penn State the ultimate upset.

Before fans stormed the field, we saw loads of NFL talent in the game such as Saquon Barkley, Chris Godwin, Mike Gesicki, Terry McLaurin, Nick Bosa, and Denzel Ward.

2. 2024 vs. No. 4 Ohio State

Is it foolish to rank this week’s matchup this high before it’s played?

This week’s matchup will be the first top-five matchup in Beaver Stadium in the 21st century. Both ESPN’s College GameDay and FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff will be side-by-side outside of the Bryce Jordan Center prior to kickoff. There will also be football fans’ favorites Josh Pate and Jason Kelce in attendance.

The overall feeling from Penn State fans is that we shouldn’t be as worried as past matchups because of the new 12-team playoff being introduced this season. A loss in this game wouldn’t eliminate the Nittany Lions from playoff contention. A win would set the team up for a clear path to the Big Ten Championship in Indianapolis and all but clinch at least a home playoff game.

Due to the wiggle room with a bigger playoff, the stakes are not as high. Also, taking into account that it’s not the White Out, nor a night game it cannot get any higher than No. 2.

The Nittany Lions haven’t beaten the Buckeyes since the famous upset in 2016 and have failed to get over the hump in the last few seasons. Will there be a different result this time around?

1. 2018 vs. No. 4 Ohio State

Despite the outcome of the game, many will point to this game as the biggest, not just of the 21st century, but Beaver Stadium history. This game was highlighted by the infamous “4th-and-5” call that lost Penn State the game 27-26.

The top-10 matchup at night in Beaver Stadium could not have been scripted for a better White Out. This week in 2018 brought ESPN’s College GameDay to town for the game and had Keegan-Michael Key as the guest picker. Fans packed into Beaver Stadium leading it to be the highest-attended game in stadium history (110,889).

If Penn State had won this game, it would have been set up to be the favorite in the Big Ten and raise its odds of reaching its first College Football Playoff in school history.