Penn State’s Saturday afternoon clash against UCLA was supposed to be another routine blowout for the Nittany Lions, but it turned into the story of the day across the sports world.
Trailing 27-7 at halftime, national media outlets started to take notice and the game quickly gained attention. When the Bruins held on for the win, it became the main talking point of television shows, radio hits, podcasts and articles across the country. One of the worst losses in program history had invited the opinions of media and fans at a national level.
Surrounded by a cacophony of noise, Penn State tuned out the outside world and focused on the players and coaches within the program.
“I think we got a good group of guys in the locker room,” left tackle Drew Shelton said. “I think we’ve come together as leaders in the locker room and really pushed to keep this group together, and I think we’ve done a good job of it so far, and we’re just going to keep going, keep taking it one day at a time.”
It started with an uneventful cross-country flight back from California, Shelton said, as players mulled over their performance on the receiving end of the biggest upset of the college football season.
“It was a long flight, quiet, obviously there wasn’t much going on on the flight, not much chatter or anything like that,” Shelton said. “But you know, we knew that we had to come back into work on Sunday morning, Sunday afternoon, and just put in the work to make sure that we put ourselves in the best position moving forward.”
But making the Lasch Building sound proof is a difficult task, and noise always finds a way to leak in. For safety Zakee Wheatley, staying off X throughout the season helps, but sometimes opening Instagram — even just to see what his friends and family are up to — can crack the barrier.
“You’re gonna end up seeing it,” Wheatley said. “But for me, if you’re not in this building, or you’re not putting in the work or going through what we’re going through, I won’t pay attention to it.“
After Penn State lost to Oregon, defensive end Zuriah Fisher said he does his best to avoid the noise, but sometimes the call is coming from inside the house.
“It could come from family members. Honestly, it could come from anybody, like you just got to stop them,” Fisher said.
There’s been online chatter among unsatisfied fans about boycotting Saturday’s game against Northwestern to express their discontent to the university leadership. Those who are in attendance likely won’t be happy. An early defensive miscue or three-and-out could be a spark that ignites flames of vitriol.
If the team opts to name head coach James Franklin on the video board pregame, there will undoubtedly be boos, and possibly chants for his dismissal. Any mistakes in front of a dissatisfied crowd will be amplified.
As much as the Nittany Lions try, it’ll be difficult to tune out that noise.
“Obviously, you know, we hear it,” Shelton said. “We understand the frustration … We have a game to play on Saturday, and that’s all we can focus on. That’s all we can control.”
The Nittany Lions have to face the music after a pair of disappointing losses that derailed a once promising season, but the key to weathering the storm has been maintaining a tight bond among the coaches and players.
“We’re not gonna get anything done by pointing fingers and separating from each other,” Shelton said. “The whole message has just been to stay together. This is one team. We have to have each other’s back and keep moving forward.”
