That was rough.

Northwestern dominated Penn State on Friday night in the debut of the new Ryan Field. The Nittany Lions never stood a chance following the first few drives, shooting themselves with terrible run defense and horrid offensive play en route to a 34-13 good-ol-fashioned whoopin’.

The upside is that there was plenty to take in at the inaugural game in the Big Ten’s newest stadium. There certainly wasn’t much to look at on the field.

Here’s what we noticed while Northwestern had its way with Penn State.

Packed Wildcat Wall

Northwestern wanted to build one of the most raucous student sections in college football, and it might have cracked the code.

It certainly helps that the Wildcats are performing at what seems to be an all-time high right now, but the Wildcat Wall is a sight to see. It’s designed after European soccer-style supporter sections, with no seats and a fuel reserve of vibes and vibes alone.

Yet, Northwestern’s students brought it all night. There was no lull in their energy, and the team clearly fed off of that.

All the critics who said that no seating was a bad idea are wrong, too.

You can kind of sit on the bar behind you that makes up the bottom of the next row. It might hurt your butt after a while, but it’s definitely comfortable enough for breaks during play.

Shoutout to the Northwestern students and the Wildcat Wall for putting on a show in game one. Certainly didn’t look or feel like a library.

Pyrotechnics Galore

I’m a big pyrotechnics guy. If your stadium goes berserk for a touchdown, I better see that same energy reciprocated with fireworks in the sky.

Northwestern spared no expense on the stadium, and it certainly didn’t spare any for the pyrotechnics. The fireworks flowed well into the night, Wildcat touchdown after Wildcat touchdown.

Purple and red together make a good light show. Respect, pyro crew.

Not A Huge Penn State Crowd

Don’t get me wrong, Penn State traveled in numbers, as it always does. Plenty of folks were repping the blue and white in Evanston, Illinois.

Maybe it was because of the stadium debut, or maybe it was because of the horrid loss to Wisconsin in Week 4, but it just didn’t look or feel like Penn State fans truly showed up. There were clear splotches of white around the stadium (especially in the upper bowl), but it still felt like a Northwestern-dominated crowd. Penn State fans had little effect.

I’d say it was a 75-25% split in favor of the Wildcats. That’s actually pretty good, all things considered, but it just wasn’t the greatest showing for Penn State on the road.

Penn State Knows The White Out Is Next Week, Right?

Yikes.

A late-game collapse against Wisconsin turned into a Northwestern beatdown from the opening snap. Penn State looked BAD.

Nothing flowed offensively. The Wildcats absolutely shredded the Nittany Lions on the ground for 413 yards. Ryan Barker missed another kick.

There really was no substance or fight in the team the entire time. It can’t all be chalked up to Northwestern simply having its day on a special night for the community. In fact, none of it can.

We knew there were going to be growing pains, but getting manhandled by Northwestern wasn’t in anybody’s cards. It was a flat-out embarrassing night for Penn State football.

And it doesn’t look like it’s going to get better anytime soon.

Flyover

Now THAT was a proper flyover.

Take notes, Beaver Stadium.

WE HAVE A FLYOVER AT NORTHWESTERN pic.twitter.com/BA93oo3LoB

— IcyVert (@IcyVert) October 2, 2026