WHITE OUT

Penn State's fans took the nod, and the team responded.

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It's easier if you just pretend they're all naked.

After their 38-24 dissection of the Illinois defense in front of a home "White Out" crowd on Saturday night, Penn State moved to 5-0 on the year. They average a breath under 50 points a game, and their total against the Illini represented their lowest output of the season. Of course they've done it all at home. Their one road win comes from a quick trip to Syracuse, and the only difference between the Carrier Dome and a punching bag is that the bag isn't empty.

Not that we can blame the Lions for staying at home.

When we kicked off the college football season here at The Magazine, we took a hard look at which school had the best stadium experience in the nation. The overall winner? Penn State's Beaver Stadium, and its "White Out" games. As Beano Cook said, "If you aren't impressed with the White Out, you're probably one of those people who think the moon landing was faked in a TV studio."

What can't be faked, however, is the success of our other nominees. Texas A&M came in second, and they staggered to a 2-2 start (that "12th Man" should be a starter). Oregon and the stunningly noisy Autzen Stadium was third, but they got pummeled at home by Boise State, though losing three quarterbacks will derail most seasons. Then there was Florida, and their impenetrable Swamp. Woops. Rounding out our fab five was Notre Dame. The Irish are off to a good start by their newfound low standards, but for all their tradition, fear isn't a huge factor when it comes to visiting South Bend lately.

No, only Penn State is hanging tough. Want to get a feel for what the section is like? From our assessment:

(Junior) Tom Boroch is the duly elected president of Paternoville, a university-sanctioned student organization governing the village of 100-plus tents outside Beaver Stadium that are erected at 12:01 a.m. the Tuesday before big Nittany Lions home games. The group also has a VP and is interviewing to hire its own PR flack. Boroch's tent is at the front of the line, where between games of trash-can football he visits with residents of Paternoville to discuss their concerns—noisy neighbors, parking—much like the wedding scene in The Godfather. During those long meetings Boroch and his peeps confirm places in line and cheer plans. It's pretty heady stuff. "I grew up commuting to games from Doylestown," Boroch says. "Now I'm meeting with the athletic department to get the scoop on White Out dates, and Coach Paterno is stopping by my tent with pizzas. It doesn't seem real."

He's not exaggerating. "The coordination is off the charts," says ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit. "I know the Cameron Crazies get a lot of pub. But what's that, a thousand kids? At Penn State we're talking about 20 times that, all on the same page for every situation on the field. That's nuts."

Paternoville will be vacant in the coming weeks, unfortunately. After their friendly starting stretch, which has left their faces covered in frosting, the Lions hit the road for four of their next five, including trips to Wisconsin and Ohio State. Unfriendly.

Your home, sometimes, is only as good as who you can get to visit.

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