We are getting oh so close to the 2025 White Out. You can already start to feel the energy inside State College shifting into pent-up excitement, with just a little over a week until Penn State hosts Oregon under the lights at Beaver Stadium on NBC.

College football fans have been looking forward to this matchup for months now. All eyes will be on Happy Valley the week leading up to September 27. At this point, it’s hard to build up any more anticipation and excitement ahead of the Greatest Show in College Sports.

But there is one way the theatrics and the fanfare could be amped up ahead of White Out weekend, and that’s with another visit from our friends over at College GameDay. But not only for ESPN to hold its college football pregame show on Penn State’s campus, but also to put GameDay back where it belongs, and that’s in front of Old Main.

The set of GameDay hasn’t been located on Old Main Lawn since the 2021 White Out against Auburn. The crew returned to central Pennsylvania for the first time since the Tigers ventured north a season ago for the Penn State-Ohio State showdown. GameDay could not be at Old Main because our not-so-friends over at FOX ruined another big-time game with a noon kickoff.

ESPN was forced to set up its pregame show closer to Beaver Stadium between the Bryce Jordan Center and Lot 41. It was great to have GameDay back in town for the first time in a few years, and they did great with what they were working with last season. Despite the limited space, the crowd showed up just as they always do, and the shots of the sea of white spilling into the tailgate spots at 9 a.m. were beautiful.

It was a great scene, but it just didn’t feel perfect. Something was off; perhaps it was the folks over the hill at FOX trying to steal fans away from GameDay to watch their show. But I think it felt off because GameDay should always be at Old Main, and when it’s not, you notice the difference.

Penn State and Oregon both have the rankings to attract Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit, Pat McAfee, and the rest of the crew to State College for the White Out. It’s a rematch of last season’s Big Ten Championship, and that game did not disappoint for the viewers. Both teams should be ranked inside the top six when Dan Lanning brings his Ducks to Beaver Stadium for the first time since 1964.

The second-best game of the week is down in Athens, Georgia, where the Dawgs host a one-loss Alabama in an SEC showdown that looked a lot better during the preseason before the Crimson Tide fell to Florida State in week one. That, without a doubt, leaves the Nittany Lions and Ducks as the best matchup in the country during week five.

The 2025 White Out is arguably the best White Out since the 2018 White Out. No. 4 Ohio State knocked off No. 9 Penn State in a comeback fashion that year, breaking the hearts of blue and white fans. You can make the case that this year’s edition of the White Out will top even that matchup. In terms of recent White Out opponents, Penn State hasn’t had a formidable opponent like Oregon in years. Current undergraduate students have gotten Minnesota, Iowa, and Washington for their White Out games.

Oregon coming to town at night creates an energy around the White Out that the aforementioned past opponents simply could not provide. That should entice GameDay even more to make the stop in Happy Valley this time around.

The past scenes on Old Main Lawn are something current students need to experience. The thrill of staying up all night and camping out to get as close to the set is a feeling you can’t describe. Spending all morning around thousands of your fellow Nittany Lions and screaming your head off for three straight hours on live TV is not a want, it’s a need.

After ESPN lost the media rights to Big Ten games a few years ago, GameDay has been attending a lot of SEC matchups every Saturday, but come September 27, the crew has the opportunity to visit a once-favorite location for the show in State College.

Despite ESPN not airing this year’s White Out due to its 7:30 p.m. kick, the crew, mainly Herbstreit, will have plenty of time to get out of town to broadcast their nightly game on ABC.

The memories of Lee Corso crowdsurfing to open GameDay and Saquon Barkley walking out of the doors of Old Main and through the crowd as the guest picker. Or Rece Davis opening the show with the sights of State College and starting a “We Are” chant are far too old. It’s time for new memories to be made.

Viewers around the country want to see Old Main as the dropback of another GameDay set. And I promise ESPN, the ratings will show that if it happens. Penn State will show out if you come. GameDay, the ball is in your court.

College GameDay needs Penn State, and Penn State needs College GameDay on September 27.