At last count, there are 27 tents total. By the time this column is filed, it wouldn't be surprising to find out that number has doubled.

There is an assortment of pizza, textbooks, coolers, bikes, folding chairs and laptops. Stretching from the women's public bathroom is a long, orange extension cord that is being used to filter electricity.

Connected to a television is an X-box, where the game NCAA Football 2006 is being played. On the screen Penn State is battling Minnesota. A magazine with Alan Zemaitis on the cover lays close by on top of an inflatable bed.

There are apartments close by, no dorm rooms in sight.

Here in front of Gate A, Beaver Stadium's student section entrance, the line has begun to form long before the main event will take place.

I had no idea it was this serious.

For a person who wasn't around for the dismantling of Nebraska in 2002, this is mind-boggling. For someone who has never sat in the student section for a game, this is hard to comprehend.

The first settlers say they have been here since Sunday evening. The loyalists say anything but a front row seat is unacceptable. They have already hung signs of blue-and-white on the wall perpendicular to the gate that bars them for five more days.

After perusing this solid ground for a few minutes, it becomes clearer why they have jumped out to such a huge head start.

I meet a guy named Jeffrey Bast (junior-microbiology). Bast wasn't the first one to arrive, but he has come in enough time to ensure his highly coveted seat.

The question is asked why Bast has decided to make this his home here for the next few days. To the less-passionate fan, it seems silly, bordering on insane. After a few moments of chatter, I realize there's more to take into consideration. I find out there is an issue of lineage involved, punctuated by a feeling of ineptitude surrounding this program until this season.

"My dad has sat in section EJ since 1969, and every game since," Bast said. "I started coming in 1993 with him. Last year I started camping out with my buddies, getting front row seats."

He tells me that the Nebraska game was like none else. He even thinks this week's primetime match-up against Ohio State will top that.

"It was just crazy," Bast said of the Nebraska game. "Everybody was standing up screaming, the whole stadium was loud. It wasn't just the students, it was everybody."

I bring up the fact that Ohio State was in a situation similar to this earlier this season. I tell him that the Buckeyes had a record crowd at their stadium in a game against Texas. I tell him they lost to the Longhorns and ask him what will make this weekend different.

"This is Penn State, though," he said. "We have better fans."

Bast has not yet convinced his dad that this game will be a definite win for the Lions, though. The past few years have taught his dad that being a realist is more suiting.

"He's older. He's iffy," Bast said. "He said 'You can't ride on the hype, Ohio State's a good football team. Their defense is just too good to say we're definitely gonna win.'"

Almost simultaneously, I'm am blown away and impressed. Blown away because this is scene I'd never consider being a part of. Impressed because I've realized this is part of a fan base that cares about its team more than it should have to.

Shortly before my departure, a kid named Brent meets a kid named Zack. Brent introduces himself while Zack assembles his tent. Zack is the latest to arrive on site. He says he is a member of the water polo team and the rest of the team will arrive shortly.

Brent informs him that all of the campers have written down the sections of the stadium they choose to sit in. He wants to make sure there is a written account of who belongs where.

They don't want anyone to take their spots.