STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — No. 10/12 Penn State hosts No. 22/20 Auburn Saturday night in Beaver Stadium in a Big Ten vs. SEC showdown.
The game will be the Nittany Lions' annual "White Out" clash, and will be televised on ABC.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Here's what you need to know about the game, courtesy of Penn State Athletics Communications:
GAMEDAY IN HAPPY VALLEY: ESPN's College Gameday will make its 22nd appearance at the site of a Penn State game. Penn State is the only school to host GameDay in each of the last five seasons. GameDay will appear at a Penn State game for the sixth consecutive season. Saturday's broadcast marks the 10th time ESPN's College Gameday has originated from Penn State.
The program will be live from Penn State's Old Main lawn on Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon.
In order to accommodate the College GameDay production vehicles, Pollock Road will be closed between Carnegie Building and Henderson Building beginning Tuesday at 5 p.m. through Saturday at approximately 6 p.m.
The following regulations will be in place, per ESPN and Penn State, for fans who are interested in standing in the "pit" near the College GameDay stage (show is free of charge):
- Fans may begin lining up for access to the pit Saturday at 5:30 a.m. ET, with the pit being open at approximately 6:45 a.m. (no overnight camping).
- Fans entering the pit will be screened by security using metal detection wands.
- No bags, backpacks or purses are permitted.
- No offensive, vulgar, inappropriate or solicitation signage will be allowed (i.e., no political, religious, or .com, .org, .net signage).
- No signs or flags on a stick.
- No pens, pencils, markers or dry erase boards.
- No food or drinks.
- Throwing of objects is prohibited.
Fans are encouraged to wear a mask while attending GameDay.
PENN STATE WHITE OUT: Penn State will host its 13th annual full-stadium Penn State White Out. A tradition stretching back to a student section White Out in 2004, Penn State White Outs have created an unrivaled atmosphere inside Beaver Stadium. The Nittany Lions are 6-6 in Penn State White Out games.
Penn State will host a student-only White Out against Michigan on November 13. This is Penn State's second White Out against a non-conference opponent.
Penn State's first full stadium White Out was against Notre Dame in 2007.
SERIES HISTORY: The Nittany Lions will take on Auburn for the third time in program history. The two previous matchups came in bowl games.
In 1995, Penn State earned a 43-14 win over Auburn in the Outback Bowl. Auburn's quarterback in that game, Patrick Nix, is the father of Auburn's current quarterback, Bo Nix. Wally Richardson threw for four touchdowns, while Bobby Engram had four catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns.
In the last matchup, Penn State fell 13-9 against the Tigers in the 2002 Capital One Bowl. Robbie Gould hit three field goals.
NITTANY LIONS AGAINST THE SEC: Penn State holds a 23-23 record against current members of the SEC. Of the 46 matchups, 20 have come in bowl games, including Penn State's most recent game against an SEC opponent, the 2019 Citrus Bowl against Kentucky.
Penn State is 10-16 in regular season contests against the SEC.
ABOUT AUBURN: The Tigers earned a 62-0 win over Alabama State last Saturday to improve 2-0 on the season. They ran for 364 yards and three scores. Auburn had two 100-yard rushers as Jarquez Hunter gained 147 yards on eight carries and Tank Bigsby rushed for 122 yards on 11 carries. Hunter added a rushing touchdown. Bo Nix threw for 108 yards and two touchdowns. The Tigers defense held Alabama State to 176 yards and forced two takeaways.
Auburn, led by head coach Bryan Harsin, began its 2021 campaign with a 60-10 win over Akron.
The Tigers went 6-5 in 2020, earning a bid to the Outback Bowl against Northwestern.
Auburn ranks second in the country in scoring offense (61.0), third in rushing offense (340.0) and eighth in third down conversion percentage (58.8).
Junior QB Bo Nix has completed 74.4 percent of his passes for 383 yards and five touchdowns.
WR Shedrick Jackson leads the Tigers with seven catches for 90 yards, while WR Demetris Robertson has six catches for 89 yards and two touchdowns.
Freshman RB Jarquez Hunter is averaging 128.5 rushing yards per game with 257 yards on 17 carries (15.1 average) and two touchdowns.
Sophomore RB Tank Bigsby has rushed for 120.5 yards per game. He has 241 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries (10.0 average). Bigsby was a preseason first-team All-American by Pro Football Focus.
On defense, Auburn leads the country in scoring defense (5.0) and rushing defense (21.5) while sitting third in total defense (182.0).
Senior LB Zakoby McClain leads the Tigers with 17 tackles.
CB Roger McCreary has 10 tackles, a tackle for loss and an interception.
K Anders Carson was a preseason second-team All-American selection by the Associated Press.
TALIAFERRO RETURNS AS HONORARY CAPTAIN: Former Nittany Lion Adam Taliaferro will return to Beaver Stadium to serve as honorary captain this Saturday.
As a true freshman cornerback, Taliaferro suffered a career-ending spinal cord injury making a tackle against Ohio State in a game on Sept. 23, 2000. Paralyzed by the injury when he fractured his fifth cervical vertebrae and bruised his spinal cord, the Voorhees, N.J. native was given a five percent chance by doctors of ever walking again. He made a full recovery.
A little more than 11 months after his injury, Taliaferro completed one of the major goals he had set on September 1, 2001 as he walked, then skipped and jogged onto the Beaver Stadium turf, leading the Nittany Lions onto the field against Miami (Fla.).
Taliaferro began taking a full academic course load again at Penn State in the 2001 fall semester while continuing his rehabilitation.
In May 2005, he walked across the stage at the Bryce Jordan Center and was awarded his degree in labor and industrial relations.
LAST WEEK: Penn State earned its 300th win in Beaver Stadium as it began non-conference play with a 44-13 win over Ball State. It was the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
The Nittany Lions became one of nine FBS teams with 300 wins in their current home venue.
Penn State welcomed 105,323 fans, its most for a home opener since 2008 vs. Coastal Carolina (106,577).
The Nittany Lions moved to 30-2 all-time against MAC teams and 28-3 against current members of the MAC.
ATH Marquis Wilson played snaps on offense and defense, making him the first Penn State player to earn snaps on both sides of the ball in the same game since Dae'Lun Darien in 2017 against Maryland.
The Nittany Lions had nine different players record at least one catch in the first half. That's the most since 10 players caught a pass in the first half at Maryland in 2019.