What is Penn State's White Out? Explaining PSU's Happy Valley tradition ahead of CFP game vs SMU

The 2024-25 College Football Playoff is reaching new heights as for the first time in the CFP era, 12 teams will compete for the national championship with eight of those teams starting that path in a familiar setting: campus site games.

The same can be said for the rich history of Penn State football's White Out tradition.

Competing in its first CFP in program history, the fifth-seeded Nittany Lions will host their first-ever postseason White Out game when 11-seed SMU comes into Beaver Stadium on Saturday at noon ET — go big or go home in the postseason after all, right?

It's the second White Out game of the season for James Franklin's squad, with the other coming in Week 11 against Washington. Saturday's White Out, of course, won't be a full White Out game as the NCAA prohibits home teams from wearing their "away" whites at home.

Penn State's White Out game has become one of college football's bucket list items over the years because of the atmosphere it creates inside Beaver Stadium. And with Saturday's game taking place on the third Saturday of December, it could be a true "White Out" from a visit from Mother Nature.

"I'm adamant that it will feel like a home game," Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft told The Athletic last week. "We put ourselves in a position to host. ... As we take the filed, we're gonna make sure that our fans see what they're used to seeing and it'll feel and look like a White Out."

Here's what to know what a White Out is as Penn State hosts SMU in the first round of the College Football Playoff on Saturday:

What is a White Out?

It's rather straightforward: Every fan inside the stadium wears white.

Here's what Penn State's White Out looked like back in Week 11 vs. Washington, which was deemed a "true White Out" with the game being played at 8 p.m. ET:

As the legend goes, Penn State's White Out game debuted in the 2004 season vs. Purdue because the athletic department was looking for a way to boost the fans' experience. The brains behind the game itself was Guido D'Elia, who at the time was serving as a Penn State marketing and branding consultant.

The first three White Out's at Beaver Stadium were restricted to only Penn State students who had a ticket in the student sections. It wasn't until 2007 that the White Out was extended to the entire stadium.

Week 11's White Out vs. Washington brought in a crowd of 110,233 fans to Beaver Stadium, which marked the ninth-largest attendance in stadium history.

Penn State White Out record

• Record: 12-8

With a 35-6 win over Washington on Nov. 9, the Nittany Lions improved their White Out record to 12-8 overall — including the Student Section-only White Out games.

Penn State has won each of its last four White Out games heading into its first CFP White Out on Saturday against SMU.

Penn State White Out history

Here's a look at past results of Penn State's White Out games, per The York Daily Record:

• Oct. 9, 2004: Purdue 20, Penn State 13 *

• Oct. 8, 2005: Penn State 17, Ohio State 10 *

• Oct. 14, 2006: Michigan 17, Penn State 10 *

• Sept. 8, 2007: Penn State 31, Notre Dame 10

• Sept. 27, 2008: Penn State 38, Illinois 24

• Sept. 26, 2009: Iowa 21, Penn State 10

• Oct. 30, 2010: Penn State 41, Michigan 31 *

• Sept. 10, 2011: Alabama 27, Michigan 11

• Oct. 27, 2012: Ohio State 35, Penn State 23

• Oct. 12, 2013: Penn State 43, Michigan 40 (4OT)

• Oct. 25, 2014: Ohio State 31, Penn State 24 (2OT)

• Nov. 21, 2015: Michigan 28, Penn State 16

• Oct. 22, 2016: Penn State 24, Ohio State 21

• Oct. 21, 2017: Penn State 42, Michigan 13

• Sept. 29, 2018: Ohio State 27, Penn State 26

• Oct. 19, 2019: Penn State 28, Michigan 21

• Sept. 18, 2021: Penn State 28, Auburn 20

• Oct. 22, 2022: Penn State 45, Minnesota 17

• Sept. 24, 2023: Penn State 31, Iowa 0

• Nov. 9, 2024: Penn State 35, Washington 6

* Denotes Student Section White Out only

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Penn State White Out: What to know on Nittany Lions tradition for CFP