![]() ![]() Following the Star Spangled Banner, the band generally does some sort of tribute to the opposing team - involving the opposition’s fight song - before breaking into “Victory.” The Blue Band then gets in formation to play the National Anthem - pretty standard sporting stuff. These students inevitably miss the opening ceremonies as the lines to get into the stadium start to back up as game time approaches. The band pregame show is often missed by a large cohort of students that are consuming as much alcohol as humanly possible before stumbling into the stadium. ![]() We’re here to placate any concerns about these proud musical traditions synonymous with Penn State football. If you have never been to a football game in Happy Valley before this weekend - much as I hadn’t before witnessing the Nittany Lions triumph over Buffalo in 2015 - you may find you don’t really know how or why people are being prompted to sing and cheer. The fact of the matter is that the songs the Blue Band performs before and during the game or that blast through the PA system in Beaver Stadium highlight some of the strongest traditions tied to Penn State football. Alabama.For any freshmen or newcomers to Penn State who have yet to experience a Penn State football game in all of its glory, you may quickly realize everyone else is singing along with songs you have no prior experience with. While that was Sacca’s first interception it was costly and another interception later in the game helped seal the Canes 17-14 victory putting Miami in the argument for the top position in the polls and ultimately send them and Heisman Trophy winning quarterback, Gino Torretta, to the national championship game in New Orleans vs. It was Canes linebacker Jesse Armstead who blitzed Sacca, hitting him as he threw the ball, creating the opportunity for Krein. The backbreaking mistake came with Miami up 10-7 in the third quarter when PSU QB John Sacca threw a pressured screen pass that ended up in the hands of Miami defensive end Darren Krein who rumbled 28 yards for what would prove to be the game winning touchdown. It's tough to beat a team that good doing those things." We got the penalties and we got the blocked field goal - missed two field goals. Miami would go on to play “a perfect game," the late Penn State coach Joe Paterno said of Miami after the game. "They treated us like this was the Orange Bowl" said middle linebacker Micheal Barrow. With Public Enemy blaring on the newly installed Beaver Stadium sound system it felt odd to hear at a venue like Penn State but the Canes ate it up. There was plenty of pre-game taunting from both sides and you just knew this was going to be epic. I remember going to this road game with my friends, entering Beaver Stadium with a “white-out” crowd that was as loud as any place I had been. Going into an extremely hostile environment as the Big Bad Hurricanes was a role they relished. Two top ten teams clashing on national television this is the type of game the Canes loved to play. This would be the second straight week the Canes would face (and beat) a top ten team, having just beaten then #3 FSU in the Orange Bowl. Miami was ranked number 2 going into that game while PSU was number 7. While the 1986 Fiesta Bowl is probably the most famous matchup, the game that I’ll never forget is when the Canes visited University Park, PA in October 1992 to take on the Lions before almost 97,000 fans, a record crowd at that point. It’s been 16 years since then but the games played between these schools have gone down as some of the best in college football history. ![]() The Canes haven’t played Penn State since Septemwhen they beat the Nittany Lions 33-7 to open the season at Beaver Stadium in front of 109,313 people. ![]()
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