Quarterback Drew Allar and Penn State are back on the field Saturday as a six-touchdown favorite against Nevada at Beaver Stadium.
Rebecca Blackwell | AP file photo
In the end, only a few hundred seats will be missing this year at the work-in-progress Beaver Stadium.
Oh, things will look and work differently there this year with just one of three offseasons complete in the massive renovation project.
But as the No. 2 Nittany Lions enter a season with perhaps their highest expectations of the century, one concern won’t be decreased crowd noise.
“Our official capacity this season, is going to be 106,304,” Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft said last week. “We’re a little below our normal number (106,572). But we’re ready to go. The building and the most hostile and exciting environment in all of sports will be ready.
“Our fans are going to be ready to rock and roll when we kick off for Nevada. That was very important to me and our team, that we did not want anything to get in the way of the greatest environment in all sports.”
For many, Saturday’s opener between Penn State and Nevada will be their first look at the project, which saw the upper bleachers and press box structure on the west side torn down.
Temporary bleachers above the lower bowl have been installed for the season on that side and have been fully tested and ready to go.
Kraft sought to alleviate concerns from any fans who might have seen photos of the temporary seats high above the field before they were finished.
“The west side temporary seating structure was installed by InProduction. They are the largest provider of temporary seating and staging structure in the United States,” Kraft said. “Their client list: PGA Tour, they work with F1, they work with the WTA, NASCAR, the Kentucky Derby. They work with everybody at an elite level of athletics.
“… So the structure has met code. It’s good to go. We’ve had several people walking up and down in it. I’m going to be honest with you, awesome seats. … But before and after, I will say every game, it continues to get inspected to make sure we’re good. Believe it or not, you just don’t throw things up and then leave it there.”
Penn State even put out a video of a group of linemen walking up to the new seats and testing out both the supports underneath and the bleachers themselves.
“For the most part, it’s been great,” Lions coach James Franklin said Thursday on his weekly radio show. “I think, for the people that have not been in the stadium yet, you’re going to get in there and you’re going to be like, ‘Wow, this is a lot better than what I anticipated.’
“I think it’s got some upgrades already, but you’re going to start to kind of picture how special this thing’s going to be a year from now.”
THREE AND OUT
Knowles set for debut
Penn State made one of the biggest offseason splashes in the country when the Lions lured away defensive coordinator Jim Knowles from Ohio State just weeks after he helped the Buckeyes win a national title.
The Philadelphia native may just be the NCAA’s best when it comes to running a defense. But it’s well understood that his scheme is relatively complex and demands serious attention to detail from the players.
As such, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see some growing pains from the unit in the first game.
There’s also an adjustment from a personality standpoint from Knowles’ predecessor, Tom Allen.
Whereas Allen had years of going full volume from his time as Indiana head coach — his scratchy voice even in the summer was proof of that — Knowles is much more deliberate and measured in his speech.
Which isn’t to say he isn’t capable of getting loud at a practice when a player misses an assignment. But he brings a different approach to the job.
“He’s kind of a mad scientist,” Franklin said. “He’s got a very different demeanor than most coaches. I’ll have him come up and address the team, and he’s kind of whispering, and everybody in the meeting room is kind of leaning in to listen to what he has to say. But he’s very thoughtful, and he’s got a really good scheme that matches what we were already doing.
“And then also just his experience of being at Ohio State and coming up short two years for a national championship and then winning in year three. Those experiences are valuable. So it’s been good.”
Infirmary report
One position to watch is at defensive end, where sixth-year senior Zuriah Fisher may be limited or held out entirely, as injuries have been an issue throughout his career.
Franklin may have hinted at this possibility when speaking to reporters in State College after Wednesday’s practice when discussing plans for promising true freshman Chaz Coleman in the opener.
“I think he’s gonna play a lot,” Franklin said. “It wouldn’t surprise me if he plays 30, 35 plays or so. I hate to say numbers, because once I do, he’s seen that, his mom has seen that and you (reporters) have wrote about it. But that would not surprise me.”
If the Lions take it easy with Fisher in the early going, Coleman and redshirt freshmen Jaylen Harvey and Mylachi Williams are in line to see the most snaps behind entrenched starter Dani Dennis-Sutton.
On offense, it seems more likely that Troy transfer Devonte Ross will suit up at receiver after dealing with his own nagging injury throughout the summer. But his snaps may be limited as to not push things too soon.
As it is, the top group at wideout is made up of transfers Ross, Kyron Hudson and Trebor Pena along with returning senior Liam Clifford. The next group is led by redshirt freshman Tyseer Denmark and true freshman Koby Howard, both of whom could see a decent amount of action in these first three weeks.
Mysteries abound
Nevada, meanwhile, returns just one starter from last season’s defense.
But as second-year head coach Jeff Choate has pointed out, that might not be the worst thing in the world, given that the Wolf Pack didn’t win a game in their Mountain West Conference schedule in 2024 and ranked dead last in the nation on third-down defense.
It’s little surprise then that Nevada has gone through a major overhaul during the offseason, bringing in more than 50 players from the transfer portal. It’s a strategy that is becoming more common as teams, especially those with relatively new coaches, look for better fits for their roster.
It also makes it tougher on the opening opponent’s gameplan, as film from the previous season becomes of limited value.
“In today’s college football, opening games are always difficult because you don’t know what you’re going to get,” Franklin said. “Coaches have done offseason studies. It’s hard to kind of predict what it’s going to be. So you talk about running base offense, base defense, base special teams and then kind of adjust as the game goes on.
“Now you magnify that with Nevada has 54 new players on the roster from the transfer portal.”
At quarterback, the Wolf Pack will start sixth-year veteran Chubba Purdy, who began his career in the 2020 pandemic season and started a handful of games along the way at Florida State and Nebraska.
Purdy, the younger brother of 49ers starting quarterback Brock, has battled injuries at all three stops in his college career and didn’t have a chance to challenge for the starting job last year.
In the past, Purdy has been an effective runner, presenting an extra challenge for the Lions defense off the bat.
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