I get it, we’ve played this song and dance before. It’s Thanksgiving break, and there’s a home football game. Regardless of the circumstance or whether it’s before or after Thanksgiving, Onward State has always advocated for the students to show up for the final home game of the year.

This one feels different, though. While in prior years, Penn State usually played a downtrodden program as a massive favorite, running out the clock on a season that fell short of their ultimate goal due to big game failures in the past. Even last season, when they faced Maryland for a shot in the Big Ten Championship Game, it was because Ohio State had lost to Michigan just minutes before opening kickoff.

This year, however, has been a whirlwind. National championship expectations feel like a distant memory, as a gut-wrenching six-game losing streak saw Penn State lose its quarterback and head coach, while throwing the program into a level of uncertainty that it’s only faced one other time (and for an entirely different reason).

Still, there’s one more home game to play. Fresh off retaining the Land Grant Trophy and winning for the first time in 63 days, Penn State football returns home to face Nebraska on Senior Day. In an unexpected twist, the game will be in primetime, under the lights. How bad of a look would it be if the student section were half empty, like it usually is this time of year?

It might be challenging to adjust your plans for heading home this weekend, but if you can, please consider staying for one last Saturday under the lights at Beaver Stadium. Remember, you only get so many of these games as a student, and especially if you’re a senior and considering skipping this one, this would be your last as a student. Everything that makes gameday special is sacred, and voluntarily missing out when the resale market is that cheap would be a shame.

But more importantly, let’s pack Beaver Stadium for the team itself. The seniors, Coach Terry, and everyone who might be walking on that turf for the final time as a Nittany Lion. There’s a good chance that a lot of things are different when we all reconvene next September. The transfer portal and the regime change will ensure a lot of familiar faces do not return, so show up for them.

For the seniors, especially. This is the senior year for the make-or-break Class of 2022 that went down as James Franklin’s best. While some retain eligibility due to redshirting, some of the faces of this team will be playing their final home games. Dani Dennis-Sutton, Nicholas Singleton, Kaytron Allen, Zane Durant, and even Drew Allar, who’s followed the team around and continued to support them as he recovers from the broken ankle he suffered against Northwestern, will play under the lights at Beaver one last time.

There’s history to root for. After his Herculean effort against Michigan State, Allen is just 138 yards shy of Evan Royster’s all-time rushing record. He currently sits in third, just 49 yards shy of Saquon Barkley. There’s a chance he can pass both of them and exit Beaver Stadium for the final time to a standing ovation.

Singleton can make history, too. Despite a frustrating season that’s seen his productivity dip and his touches decrease, the dynamic senior can not only get into fourth on the all-time rushing list with another 68 yards, but he’s two touchdowns shy of Barkley’s all-time rushing touchdown record. That’ll be a hard one to break, but he can certainly tie it heading into the season finale at Rutgers.

It’s not just them, though. Team captains Nick Dawkins and Dom DeLuca will be playing their final home games, as will Zakee Wheatley and Zuriah Fisher. 23 players on the roster are out of eligibility after this year, and all of them deserve your support.

This season has been frustrating, there’s no doubt about that, but these seniors have given us so many memories. From 2022-24, the Nittany Lions won 34 games, made the College Football Playoff Semifinals, and won a Rose Bowl. Countless moments are worth celebrating, like Singleton’s many dashes to the end zone, DeLuca’s pick-six against SMU, and Dennis-Sutton’s interception in the Orange Bowl.

Above all else, though, it’s a chance to appreciate interim head coach Terry Smith. A letterman and longtime assistant coach, there are few in the community who bleed blue and white the way that he does. Every press conference shows how much this university means to him and his family, and who knows what’s next for him after he finishes his duties as interim head coach.

The student section chanted his name during the fourth quarter against Indiana, but the team couldn’t pull out the win. How special would it be if he got a win at home with those same chants?

Look, I know the timing’s bad, and the season has been rough, but Saturday will be the true end of an era. The football team that takes the field for the Blue & White Game in April will look completely different from top to bottom. This season might ultimately be a failure, but the players have given us so much. They deserve one last raucous crowd (and student section) on Saturday.