Penn State football is going bowling, folks.

The Nittany Lions beat Rutgers 40-36 on Saturday to get back to .500 and secure bowl eligibility after a rollercoaster season.

Penn State’s defense came up clutch with a 61-yard scoop and score from Amare Campbell in the fourth quarter despite a horrible showing, giving up 189 yards to Scarlet Knights running back Antwan Raymond. Kaytron Allen rushed for a career-high 226 yards in his final regular-season game, and Nick Singleton broke the Nittany Lions’ all-time rushing and total touchdown mark while becoming Penn State’s all-time leader in all-purpose yards.

Our staff was in SHI Stadium for Penn State’s wild season finale. Here’s what we saw.

The Rutgers Boardwalk: Coolest Invention Since The Wheel?

After a lackluster tailgate scene at Michigan State, we were happy to see a bumping fan presence early in the day in Piscataway. The lots were mostly full, grills out, and people just having a good time all around.

However, The Rutgers Boardwalk elevated the tailgating scene to a whole other level. Saturday’s assigned theme was “Winter Wonderland”. The street leading up to the SHI Stadium gates was filled with bounce houses, petting zoos, food trucks, and team stores.

We had a little detour inside a snowman-shaped bounce house before heading into the stadium. We were denied from riding some ponies in a small clearing just off the street for being “too big”, but you can’t win ’em all.

Anyways, here’s Gabe Nwosu.

SHI Stadium: Actually Pretty Cool

When you think of stellar Big Ten football stadiums, Rutgers’ SHI Stadium probably doesn’t come to mind. However, it was actually a really cool in-game experience.

For starters, the cannon. The cannon. The cannon. The cannon.

Rutgers fires a cannon next to the north end zone after every touchdown and extra point the Scarlet Knights score. The cannon is loud, to say the least. It scared me multiple times from up in the press box. I swear the whole structure moved, but I digress. I pray for everybody’s eardrums who were on the field. But I loved it. It’s quirky.

One of the Rutgers Artillery Crew members, who works the cannon, even said hi to us while we were on the field pregame, so that gets a huge bonus as well. He seemed really friendly.

SHI Stadium’s in-game entertainment was also top-notch. My personal favorite was their “Naughty or Nice” segment comparing multiple Penn State and Rutgers landmarks. Obviously, the Penn State ones were labeled “Naughty”, but it was a funny game to go with the Christmas vibe they wanted to set. Christmas lights surrounded the LED big boards. Rutgers clearly does not mess with its holiday festivities.

More “Hire Terry Smith” Signage

While Penn State and Pat Kraft haven’t made a decision for the program’s next head coach as of Monday morning, the Nittany Lion faithful made their voices heard once more for the school to promote Terry Smith to the full-time gig.

We saw a considerable amount of “Hire Terry Smith” signs both on The Rutgers Boardwalk and in the stadium during game time. There was even a plane flying around with the message before the game started.

Hard to tell but… there is a plane flying around Rutgers right now saying “Pat Kraft hire Terry Smith. pic.twitter.com/M1NFdIdkro

— Collin Ward (@wardcollinz) November 29, 2025

Who Doesn’t Love A Chili Dog?

We here at Onward State fully appreciate when programs provide all-you-can-eat meals in visiting press boxes. It hasn’t always been the case this season, so shoutout to you, Rutgers.

The pregame meal choices showcased some sandwich variety before flipping to chili dogs at halftime. I haven’t had a chili dog since having Wienerschnitzel once in middle school, and it tickled my fancy. I only downed one dog at halftime, but that was one of the most delectable dogs I’ve ever had. It was nice and warm and precisely what I needed to fuel up for a wild second half.

It doesn’t look the most appetizing, but when has chili ever looked appetizing? It was yummy in my tummy, and that’s all I care about.

To whoever’s in charge of the food in the SHI Stadium press box, I salute you. If our paths ever cross, you are always welcome to a meal on my dime.

Never A Doubt

Somehow, someway, Penn State football has stumbled its way into a bowl game behind three consecutive wins to end the season. It wasn’t pretty. In fact, it was ugly. A shootout against Rutgers just felt like the perfect way for these Nittany Lions to close out the regular season.

The road to a bowl required incredible determination from the team, coaching staff, and fans. Penn State will end its disastrous season in a non-disastrous way: fighting for a trophy, even if it isn’t the trophy anybody expected back in August.

Whatever the future holds, Penn State fought back. Penn State didn’t hold its head down. Penn State didn’t give up. Many other programs would have called it a lost season the second they lost to a winless UCLA team. Not Penn State. That’s not the Penn State way.