Penn State football is, of course, known for its annual White Out game, a tradition that began in 2004 with just the student section and eventually became a whole-stadium spectacle by 2007.

While the White Out garners most of the attention from national media when it comes to fan displays, Penn State’s Stripe Out is equally impressive from a coordination standpoint.

The Stripe Out began in 2015, when the Rutgers Scarlet Knights came to town to take on the Nittany Lions under the lights. The game marked the first time Rutgers made the trip to Beaver Stadium as a member of the Big Ten.

In 2021, we took a look at the Stripe Out by the numbers before Penn State’s matchup with Indiana. Up to that point, the blue and white had played in five Stripe Out games, holding a 4-1 record.

Since then, the Nittany Lions have gone 3-2 in a striped-out Beaver Stadium, but their level of competition has been substantially more difficult.

After defeating the Hoosiers 24-0 in 2021, handing the crimson and cream their first shutout loss since the turn of the century, Penn State welcomed Ohio State to Happy Valley in 2022.

Despite Penn State leading 22-16 in the fourth quarter with under 10 minutes remaining, a legacy game by Buckeye defensive end J.T. Tuamoloau paved the way for a scarlet and grey tsunami. Ohio State exploded to a 44-21 victory, handing Penn State its first Stripe Out loss since 2018.

In 2023, Penn State suffered a similar fate. After putting up an offensive disaster class, the Nittany Lions fell to Michigan 24-15. Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh was facing a suspension due to a sign-stealing violation of the Big Ten sportsmanship policy and was not on the sideline for the game.

No, Harbaugh, no problem. The maize and blue ran the ball 32 consecutive times down the throats of the Penn State defense and came out with a victory. They would later go on to win the National Championship. Technically. Allegedly. Debatably.

The game also set a new Stripe Out attendance record, with 110,856 people in attendance. At the time, the crowd marked the second-largest in Beaver Stadium history.

2024 ended the streak of two consecutive losses for Penn State when it defeated UCLA 27-11 under a uniquely perfect blue-and-white sky. Liam Clifford tallied a miraculous 107 yards on three receptions, a career high in the first category by a substantial margin.

But perhaps the most depressing Stripe Out came in 2025. Penn State fell to Northwestern 22-21, the game that ended Drew Allar’s collegiate career and James Franklin‘s 11-year Penn State tenure. Allar suffered a broken left ankle in the 4th quarter of the loss, as an already gloomy day from the start became an emotional affair for fans and players alike.

Overall, Penn State has outscored opponents 260-206 in Stripe Out affairs and has a 7-3 record in such games. For comparison, the Nittany Lions have a 9-3 record in White Out games in that span, including the SMU College Football Playoff First Round game in 2024.

Matt Campbell and his team will look to correct the recent swoon at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 5, when they will take on Marshall in front of a Stripe Out crowd on FS1.

If you plan to attend, check in advance what color you should wear here.