Penn State football came so close.

The Nittany Lions dropped a heartbreaker on Saturday night with its 45-37 loss to Oregon in the Big Ten Championship. After an overall solid game, Drew Allar’s fourth-quarter interception sealed the deal for the Ducks.

Our football writers were on the scene to take note of all happening at and around the game.

Penn State Fans Dominate Crowd

As usual, Penn State fans traveled really well.

Penn State fans took up the vast majority of seats in Lucas Oil Stadium and made the most noise. Leaving the stadium after the game and going through downtown, Penn State fans dominated the nightlife.

The game was far from a sell-out, and there were a good few empty seats peppered throughout the venue. Still, it was a strong showing from the folks wearing white.

Notably, there were plenty of neutral fans also in attendance. Ohio State fans who expected to play on Saturday were plentiful, as were the Big Ten neutrals who just wanted to watch a football game. Judging by the crowd noise when head coach Curt Cignetti made the video screen, the game is a popular affair among Indiana fans.

Downtown Indianapolis Is Lovely

Who would’ve thought a Midwest city could be so nice? Well, we did.

The immediate area around Lucas Oil Stadium was a little dead with minimal nightlife at game time, especially the several acres of dirt to the west of the stadium. However, heading eastbound into downtown Indianapolis presented a different scene. Bar lines were filled with people wearing white and green, and the city itself looked nice.

Along with the big Christmas tree in the center of town, odd bar names, and plenty of traffic, Indianapolis had all the makings of, well, a city.

Celebs Show Out

OK, let’s get it out of the way. Tank Smith made it to the game, folks.

In addition to Smith, plenty of other Penn State football alumni made the journey. Sean Clifford, Curtis Jacobs, and Spice Adams were all in attendance for Saturday’s affair.

Along with the Penn Staters, ESPN’s Pat McAfee made an appearance after spending the earlier part of the day in Atlanta for the SEC Championship. He spent the game with Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton.

Lucas Oil Stadium Is A Great Venue

I have been in two NFL stadiums that aren’t in Philadelphia: Detroit and Atlanta. Lucas Oil Stadium, while it had its own identity, certainly felt a bit like Detroit.

The venue itself was awesome, and importantly, inside. I’m a big advocate for no football stadiums ever having a dome (cowards are scared of the cold), but it was appreciated after the week of snow and chilly weather in State College.

The best part of the venue was the team entrance. While the teams’ typical entrance songs weren’t played, the fire coming out of the tunnel made up for it. It was an electric atmosphere that set the stage for one heckuva game.

The Duck Is Awesome

There aren’t many college mascots better than the Symbol of our Best, but the Oregon Duck, known as Puddles, might just take the cake.

There isn’t much to say about Puddles other than that they’re awesome. That’s it. Puddles was running cone drills in the middle of Oregon band members pregame. Puddles was trolling photographers on the sideline during the game. Puddles was dancing to the music, hyping up the crowd, and representing their university well. We will never hate you, Puddles.

In one final ode to the Duck, here are our best pictures of Puddles.