
It's a new era for Penn State football, and the crowd atmosphere represented that sentiment -- both in positive and negative ways. We lost to Ohio. There's no way around that. I'm still bitter, so forgive my cynicism as I bring you the first "Observations" post of the 2012 season.

The 2012 White Out game against Ohio State is still nearly two months away, but the official t-shirts are on sale now. A few of our writers took a look at the design, which was voted on and created by fans last spring.

No one really wanted to think about it, but everyone knew in the back of their heads that it could happen. Despite all of the morale and excitement leading up to today, there was a real chance that Penn State could drop its season opener for the first time since 2001. Those fears turned into reality as the Nittany Lions (0-1) fell to the Ohio Bobcats (1-0) 24-14.

Yesterday marked another step forward toward a new era of Penn State Football. Students, members of the State College community, and fans - most of whom will be attending the game today - packed Beaver Stadium for Football Eve, the annual pep rally before the first game of the season.