Penn State and Iowa take the field at the same time to to play in a White Out football game at Beaver Stadium. Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK

Penn State Announces 2024 White Out Opponent, Date

Originally posted on Penn State Nittany Lions on SI
By Mark Wogenrich | Last updated Jul 15, 2024 1:35 PM ET

Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK

Penn State will welcome Washington the Big Ten, and to Beaver Stadium, with a November White Out. Penn State football on Monday announced its theme games for the 2024 season, which included the long-awaited White Out date and opponent.

The Penn State Nittany Lions will host the Washington Huskies on Nov. 9 for the 16th full-stadium White Out game in Beaver Stadium history. It also marks Washington's first appearance at Beaver Stadium. The Nittany Lions lead the series against Washington 3-0, with the teams having played twice in bowl games. Penn State most recently defeated the Huskies 35-28 in the 2017 Fiesta Bowl.

The announcement ended months of speculation regarding the 2024 Penn State White Out game, which drew debate over the game's value to Penn State, the Big Ten and college football in general. Penn State coach James Franklin implied that he wanted the Nittany Lions to host Ohio State for the annual White Out, though that Nov. 2 game could be headed for a Fox Big Noon broadcast. Instead, Penn State will host Washington for the White Out a week later. Penn State has designated the Nov. 2 game against Ohio State as the "Helmet Stripe" game, which essentially is a White Out with a few sections of Beaver Stadium fans wearing blue.

"I’m probably a lot like the fans in terms of, I want it all," Franklin said in June. "And very few times in life do you get it all. You'd like the opponent and the time of day, for sure. But again, that's challenging. The time-of-day thing is what’s really become more difficult because of when primetime games now are chosen. ... Now, based on the different TV networks, it could be at 12, 7, or 3:30,. You don’t know based on what they think is going to draw the most eyes. I’m like the fans. I’d like it all but don’t know that yet."

The Penn State-Washington game will mark just the second November White Out in the game's history. In 2015, Penn State hosted Michigan for a White Out on Nov. 21 that also served as the Nittany Lions' Senior Day and final regular-season home game. Penn State has played seven full-stadium White Out games in September and seven in October.