Joel Klatt takes shot at Penn State football, playoff White Out game

Penn State football is preparing to do battle against SMU in the first round of the College Football Playoff this weekend. But on the periphery, the ongoing war between the Nittany Lions fanbase and the Big Ten’s primary media rights partner continues to wage on.

By now, it’s no secret that those in and around Happy Valley are less than thrilled with FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff. As the main television partner of the conference, Penn State football has seen its premier home matchups designated to the noon time slot in each of the last four seasons. As a result, the university has needed to get creative with how it handles its annual White Out spectacle.

Each passing year, the critics of Big Noon among the Nittany Lion faithful have grown in number and intensity.  But this week, Penn State football has decided to make a concession that it has yet to do for FOX and host a noontime White Out. With the first-ever home playoff game coming to State College on Saturday, Penn State is encouraging its fans to roll out all the stops to keep its national title hopes alive.

And the folks at FOX took notice. On Wednesday, FOX Sports’ lead college football analyst and Big Noon color commentator Joel Klatt took a dig at Penn State for doing what once seemed unthinkable.

“Hey, by the way, shocking, you can do a White Out at noon,” Klatt said when previewing the matchup between the Nittany Lions and Mustangs on his podcast, The Joel Klatt Show.

Joel Klatt sends shots at Penn State, poking fun at the fact that we are doing an official Whiteout at Noon for SMU

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— LandonTengwall (@landon_tengwall) December 18, 2024

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Penn State football appeared on Big Noon Kickoff three times during the regular season, two of which came at Beaver Stadium. Saturday will be the Nittany Lions’ sixth noon game of 2024, including the October 12 matchup at USC, which was a 12:30 p.m. West Coast kickoff. The Blue and White are 4-1 in early kicks this year.

“Obviously, it’s going to be a challenge, and we’re looking forward to it, and the guys have embraced it,” James Franklin said of the matchup on Monday. “And we’re going to need this place rocking on Saturday. Obviously, a different situation at this time of the year and having a home game, which we appreciate.

“I think every program in the country was battling to either have a bye week in the playoffs to start the playoffs or a home game, and we were able to accomplish one of those two. So excited about the opportunity.”

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