UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Auburn's trip to Penn State over the weekend turned out to be a memorable experience for fans of both teams, with words such as friendly, polite, hospitable and warming all mentioned.
An Auburn fan named Jack told me before the game that he had been walking around for about two hours talking to and sharing stories with Penn State fans at their tailgates.
"I couldn't believe how friendly all ya'll were," the man, speaking of the northern crowd, said about an hour before kickoff of Saturday night's whiteout game.
There was a lot of orange on hand for the game, with Auburn fans showing up in strong numbers. The ones I spoke to as I walked around for a while all had smiles and offered praise for the hosts from Penn State.
And the PSU fans offered similar kind words in return.
A man name Mel, who called my radio show in Altoona on Monday, said he left two empty chairs at his tailgate so that Auburn fans could sit down for a while if they wished. He said a dozen such fans took him up on the offer throughout the day, and they all got along great looking forward to the game.
When Penn State visited Alabama in 2010, scores of Nittany Lion fans came back with stories about how friendly and polite everyone was in Tuscaloosa. When Alabama returned the trip to Happy Valley in 2011, there were similar stories told, only this time with Bama fans mentioning how much they enjoyed the hospitality of the Penn State fans.
Auburn's trip here seemed to follow suit when it comes to mutual respect from both fan bases.
It might not always seem so welcoming and warming at Beaver Stadium to fan bases of some teams, most notably Ohio State and Michigan. We've occasionally heard of complaints from fans of those teams about some unruly behavior from Penn State faithful, and even if it's only a handful of fans acting rudely, such incidents can give a fan base a bad reputation.
Conversely, weekends like this past one -- or when Alabama visited in 2011 -- where everyone gets along glowingly can tell a great story of the good sportsmanship and hospitality Penn State usually offers visiting fan bases.
I heard from about 15 Penn State fans Sunday and Monday sharing some stories about their encounters with Auburn fans. Here are a few good ones:
Met quite a few Auburn fans and they were great. One even said he'd allow me to crash at their place for the game next year. One had a daughter moving to NY for musical theater where I live and I was helping them know where to apartment hunt. Great fans and nice people!
— Joe K (@Kurtek29) September 20, 2021
My husband Ubers for all the games. This was the first time he talked about the opposing fans and how wonderful they were. They gave him huge tips and we’re very grateful and he really enjoyed them.
— Jen (@steelermouse80) September 20, 2021
A group of Auburn fans came over to the Buccinese Friday night. We spent the evening trading stories about both storied programs. Taught them how to play bocce, even though I don't quite think I was able to get them away from their love of cornhole !
— jcovino27 (@jcovino27) September 20, 2021
Lastly, here's a letter from an Auburn fan that's making the rounds on Twitter. Click on the tweet to read the full letter, but here's part:
"The Penn State fans were incredibly classy and welcoming. ... The great thing is you guys brought that level of noise without the rudeness and hostility that comes with a game at (LSU's) Tiger Stadium, for example."
@coachjfranklin @PennStateFball @Paul4PennState pic.twitter.com/VMNClD0e2B
— Sylvester Owusu (@JustASlyGuy) September 20, 2021
PSU BASKETBALL RECRUITING
Penn State missed out on superstar recruit Dereck Lively, who committed to Duke on Monday evening .
While landing Lively would have been incredible for the Lions, it was always extremely unlikely. The 7-foot-1 center is the No. 2 recruit in the country, and there's just no way a prospect of that caliber should come to Penn State given its lack of tradition.
Penn State was in the mix with Lively because of his family connections -- his mother played basketball there and is a university employee, plus he grew up in Bellefonte -- and because Micah Shrewsberry had good connections with other recruits who know Lively well.
If all the stars had aligned and Lively had chosen Penn State, it would have been a recruiting miracle pulled off by Shrewsberry.
Now, all attention turns to Friday, when 4-star shooting guard Otega Oweh announces his decision. There are lots of reasons to believe Oweh will pick the Lions, notably that his brother, Odafe (Jayson) Oweh played football for PSU and his brother, Kaylen, just walked on to the program.
If Oweh does pick Penn State, it would give Shrewsberry three outstanding commits. The others are 4-star center Kebba Njie and 3-star guard Jameel Brown.
HOW LOUD WAS IT?
Several fans mentioned Monday that they felt the Auburn game was the loudest they've ever heard Beaver Stadium, even more so than the 2005 or 2016 wins over Ohio State.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know how you would compare the games.
Here's one good comment from poster msc166:
"100% the loudest I’ve ever heard the stadium. I’ve been a season ticket holder since 2006 right after the JoePa vs. Bowden Orange Bowl and have been attending games since 1997. The 4th quarter Saturday night was deafening and my ears were ringing until well after the game.
"As for Aurburn fans….AWESOME people!!! We had a mixed tailgate and we were discussing plans for my buddies and I to head down south so this same group of Auburn fan could host our group next year.
"Amazing experience Saturday night."
LB SMITH HONORED
Linebacker Brandon Smith was named Big Ten defensive player of the week on Monday for his efforts in the 28-20 win over Auburn. It's the first such weekly award of Smith's career.
Smith had a career-high 10 tackles, one tackle for loss, one pass breakup and one QB hurry. He held Auburn to 1 yard or less on three of his 10 tackles.
HOOSIERS AT NIGHT
Indiana's visit to Happy Valley in two weeks will kick off at 7:30 p.m. and air on ABC, it was announced Monday. It will be a stripe out game at Beaver Stadium.
