And that’s a wrap on White Outs as students for the Class of 2027.

Despite the largest crowd in Beaver Stadium history oozing support for Penn State football Saturday, it still wasn’t enough to take down the Trojans. For some, it was their first White Out experience. For others, it was their last time seeing The Greatest Show in College Sports as a student.

Our seniors took time to reflect on their last White Out, and the experience as a whole.

Ryan Smith

Never lost a tailgate.

Experiencing my final White Out as a student definitely brought some bittersweet emotions. My first experience as a Penn State fan was the 2019 Michigan White Out when I was in seventh grade, and the atmosphere, the love of Penn State football, and the experience as a whole made me fall in love with this amazing place. I feel like I was just writing my blurb after my first White Out as a student.

Reflecting on the four White Outs I’ve experienced as a student in Beaver Stadium, I feel mixed emotions, but I’m so grateful. As a freshman, I knew these games would be special, but I didn’t realize how quickly they would go by. Of course, it would’ve been great to get the win for my last White Out as a student, but I know I’ll be back and experience a ton more White Out wins… just maybe not in the student section.

Overall, it was still an amazing day. I was surrounded by my family and my best friends who have become family, and I made memories that I will cherish forever!

Ally Eaton

It’s hard to believe Saturday night’s White Out was the last one I’ll ever attend as a student. As I sat down to write this reflection, I revisited my freshman-year blurb to see how much had changed since then.

“This was hands down one of the best days of my life, and to be able to seal the win with a 31-0 shutout was the cherry on top,” I wrote four years ago.

I can confirm that the White Out still is, and always will be, one of the best days of my life. This year was extra special as it brought together the families of many of my best friends, a USC-Penn State in-family rivalry, and memories that will last forever.

My best friend and fellow Onward State staffer, Ericka Apolskis, and I went to the top of the stadium for entrance photos and were overwhelmed with emotion and teary-eyed during the pregame video and entrance.

Standing on the field capturing the sea of white makes you feel like a small part of something special. While Penn State football didn’t win on Saturday night (and I definitely cried over that too), I still felt grateful for the game days spent in the stands and on the field.

Sean Regenye

As heartbreaking as that game was, I thoroughly enjoyed my final White Out as a student at Penn State. I haven’t been to a White Out since my freshman year (thank you, lottery system), so it almost felt like I was coming in fresh to the experience.

Getting into the game was a bit complicated, but once we had a seat and the jumbotron played the hype video, I was bought all the way in.

The lights flickering before the walk-out, “Zombie Nation”, tens of thousands of pom-poms shaking in the air, and even the “The Lion King” song before kick-off, which I typically don’t enjoy, were spectacular.

Rocco Becht tossing that bomb for their first offensive play of the game, letting the stadium breathe, had me shaking and punching my friends in excitement. I felt like a kid in a candy shop.

It didn’t matter how tight the game was because the environment felt so impactful and unwavering. Obviously, it came falling down when Becht was sacked, but even with four minutes left, no timeouts, and a stagnant offense, there was so much hope left in the stadium.

It wasn’t the result any of us wanted, but I felt like a freshman back at my first game, hopeful and oblivious to Penn State football’s struggles.

Sarah Nasif

Sitting at my last White Out was so surreal that I still don’t believe it was my last (and I think it is, because I know I will be back for another).

I was lucky enough to get student tickets all four years and got to see every season’s White Out during my time here, along with all the highs and lows that came with those games, which I will forever be grateful for.

I am sad to have wrapped up my last White Out with a loss, but was at least happy that the team was playing better football. Safe to say the additions to the pregame show, the drone show, and breaking the attendance record to tie everything off were insane.

Nonetheless, I was surrounded by my best friends in a breathtaking environment after a great day of classic Penn State tailgating, and I will always remember my last White Out as a student.

Madison Sosnowski

Time and time again, Penn State has its lows and its highs, but I will always be proud to go to this school.

I cannot believe it was my last White Out. Such a bittersweet ending. I cried, and as the rain started falling, it felt like the universe was crying with me.

The stadium playing “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” by Creedence Clearwater Revival will always be a part of that core memory. I was just happy to have that moment to hold on to. Seeing everyone in the stands come together, even through the disappointment, is what Penn State is all about.

We deserve to win, but we need to work harder. The crowd showed up, but the pressure is too much. While it was chaotic and not the outcome everyone was hoping for, I will always remember this experience and every White Out that came before it.

Kennedy Jones

My last White Out was incredibly bittersweet, and I can’t believe it’s the last one I’ll experience as a student. I went into the day knowing that I had to soak everything in, and I definitely left with so many memories.

I got to the game over an hour early, which gave me time to grab a great seat for the action. Obviously, the game could’ve ended better, and the shameful walk back to my apartment would’ve been better without the pouring rain, but you can’t beat the energy that the White Out brings even with a loss.

I’m so grateful I got to experience three incredibly different White Outs as a student, and these memories will stay with me for years to come.

Kayla Wakeley

My last White Out was nothing short of disappointing. It’s my fault, really. I started the day how I always do with big games: completely optimistic and confident it’ll end in a victory. When the lights went out for the first time, that feeling only intensified. It almost brought a tear to my eye. For a moment, everything felt exactly how a White Out should. I thought, “Surely you can’t lose in this atmosphere.”

Welp. I was wrong. Again.

The rain was incredibly fitting and suited the environment well. It literally felt like I was in a movie.

Nonetheless, I am and will always be a Nittany Lion. While this was an awful White Out to end on, it will always be We Are.

Jessica Farhat

The feeling hasn’t really sunk in that I watched my final White Out from the student section.

Obviously, other than the loss, it was a great day with friends and tailgating. Before freshman year, I never watched a single Penn State football game; I didn’t really know what the White Out was, but it quickly became the game I looked forward to every season.

That atmosphere can’t be recreated anywhere else, and that’s what makes it special. It will always be one of my favorite things about Penn State. Although it is a bittersweet end, I’m happy I had the chance to be part of something so special.

Cadyn Gill

Quite frankly, my final White Out as a Penn State student came and went without evoking much emotion. I worked intensely the entire time to deliver coverage to our lovely Onward State readers, and I take pride in that.

However, after three years of screeching and howling from the stands to do my 1/110,000, I couldn’t help but feel a little blue about my heightened responsibilities on Saturday’s White Out. I didn’t have much time to think about it while handling live game coverage, postgame media, and sider duties, but a sentimental feeling washed over me as I walked home from Beaver Stadium around 1 a.m. after turning in my postgame article.

Despite being in the press box for every single game this season, it wasn’t until the White Out that I realized I’ll never be in the student section again, and I have only three more games left at Beaver Stadium, none of which will be spent truly pouring into the first college program I’ve ever loved.

My parents didn’t pass down a passion for Arizona State or SMU athletics, so the Nittany Lions took on all my college football passion starting in 2023. But now, as a member of the Onward State football beat, I can’t truly root for the blue and white the way I would outside journalism.

Even on the fourth time witnessing the team’s runout, I got chills from the press box. Watching the Nittany Lion rile up every corner of Beaver Stadium before the entire venue roars together has always been my favorite part, and the heightened energy of the 2026 White Out made it feel palpable. Penn State ultimately lost on a back-breaking turnover, just like in 2025, which hurt the fan inside of me, but I was somewhat impressed by the fight it showed against the Trojans.

Change is so terrifying because you can’t perceive it until you’re in it. Some measure change in inches of height, or grade level. But I measure change by White Outs.

As a freshman, I experienced my first-ever White Out against Iowa in the pouring rain. Then came the 2024 Washington blowout, the infamous 2025 Oregon choke, and now USC in 2026. Three separate chapters have opened and closed, and my last one remains open, at least for a few months. I’ve endured mind-boggling personal, emotional, professional, and academic growth over the last four football seasons.

I can tie special memories to each White Out and the months around it.

Even though I couldn’t be in the student section, this final White Out was just as special because it reminded me that life inevitably changes. This time last year, after watching Drew Allar throw that overtime interception, I would have killed to be on the football beat, sitting in the press box and covering the Nittany Lions. Now I’m exactly where I wanted to be, and there’s beauty in that.

Alex Smith

I actually had an amazing White Out other than the drone show. From the people I was with to the chicken tender basket, I had a great time.

The game itself was pretty bad, but I didn’t have high expectations, so I wasn’t too disappointed. The temperature was great too, even though I was dressed at The Denim Nightmare.

I will definitely miss the White Out, but I hope to be back another time!

Cooper Hill

This was my first, and sadly last, White Out game, but I will remember it forever.

I got to participate in Nittanyville, enjoy all the festivities, and spend Thursday night there, which made the whole experience even more special. I was also lucky enough to get a front-row seat for the game. Being in Beaver Stadium and hearing all the chants and the pure noise was amazing, and doing it from the front row is easily one of the coolest things I have ever done.

The crowd’s energy, seeing the stadium packed in white, and being part of one of the best student sections in the country was amazing. So glad I was able to experience it. WE ARE!!!!

Jamie Lynch

When I joined Onward State’s football beat this year, I knew I would miss sitting in the student section screaming my head off for the Nittany Lions. After 21 years of attending Penn State games, I had a hard time accepting that I had watched my last game in the student section without saying a proper goodbye.

After receiving two credentials instead of our typical three for the White Out this year, I got one last opportunity to receive some closure on my Penn State student experience.

This program means everything to me.

I attended my first game with my family when I was five months old, and have been back in Happy Valley every year since. I spent the better part of my childhood in awe of the synchrony and pride in the student section, wishing one day I could too be a part of the spectacle. Beaver Stadium truly is my happy place.

When I was a freshman, I wanted nothing more than to witness a big win during my four years at school. I wanted to storm the field and be a part of a signature moment at Penn State. For a while, particularly last season, I thought that dream would come true.

Saturday night was probably my last opportunity for that, and while the result wasn’t what I had hoped for, I found a unique sense of contentment that I wasn’t expecting.

I’m thankful my parents could be here to put on one last tailgate for my friends and me. Spending time with them and giving them a hug before entering the stadium meant a lot, and I know my mom can relate to the emotions I was feeling before my last true game as a fan.

As I watched the rain fall, just as it did in my freshman-year White Out, I spent the last five minutes of the game soaking it all in. And after finishing the last verse of the Alma Mater, I sat down in the last row of bleachers and began to cry.

Maybe I never got to see that monumental victory that I had hoped for, but spending four seasons in Beaver Stadium with some of my best friends gave me memories I will hold forever. My next game in the stands, I will be an alum.

Thou didst mold us, indeed.

Collin Ward

Penn State football is ultimately about three things: friends, family, and football. The White Out, no matter the year, perfectly brings those three things together.

The negative emotions of the loss wore off after the game. I sat in the bleachers with a friend and soaked in (literally, since it started pouring) all the effort and energy I have given Penn State as a student.

We sat there for a while, reflecting on the 2024 College Football Playoff run, how lucky we are to be at a game with over 114,000 people, and what the future holds for the Nittany Lions.

“That sucked,” my friend Zack said. “But man, I love this place. How lucky are we?”

I’m not sure there’s a better way to put White Out. It’s more than a game. It’s more than a sporting event. White Out is a week-long feeling that comes once a year, when you can truly feel united with hundreds of thousands of people hoping for the same outcome.

In an ever-polarized world, there is something so special about that.