When the Florida Internationals and Buffalos of the college football world make their non-conference visits to Beaver Stadium, Penn State players repeated the same lines about respecting opponents and avoiding a letdown.
But when it's Ohio State, a night game on national TV, the Penn State football players aren't nearly as guarded. Like many students and fans, players expressed high excitement for this weekend's game against the No. 1 Buckeyes.
"These games are the big ones that you look forward to," Penn State linebacker Dan Connor said. "Everyone wants to talk about it, kind of hype it up in the media. That's fun to play in. All eyes are on you, and you have [a] chance to play a great team. I know the guys on the team are looking forward to this."
Penn State, No. 25 in the Bowl Championship Series, has its first shot at knocking off a No. 1 team at home since 1989, when the Nittany Lions lost to top-ranked Notre Dame, 34-23.
"Of course, we're going to approach practice with a little more intensity because you only to get to play the No. 1 team in the country so many times," Penn State cornerback Justin King said.
In anticipation for the momentous weekend, Paternoville started two days ahead of schedule, and ESPN announced that its popular pregame show, College GameDay, will broadcast on-site Saturday morning.
"It's amazing all the excitement around the game," linebacker Sean Lee said. "It will be a great atmosphere, and we really appreciate it."
In this meeting against a No. 1 team, the Lions will face an Ohio State team that has had its legitimacy questioned because of the parity in conference and nationally.
Contrary to rational belief, No. 1 has been unsafe territory. Two weeks ago in the Southeastern Conference, Louisiana State relinquished its top ranking after being upset by then-No. 17 Kentucky on the road. A week before that, lowly Stanford knocked off No. 1 Southern California in Pac-10 play, considered a national title favorite at the beginning of the season.
That's all in addition to the fact that the Big Ten has been viewed unfavorably this season. The tone for the conference's relatively down season was set week one, when then-No. 5 Michigan was stunned by the Football Championship Subdivision school Appalachian State.
Despite that, the level of excitement among players has apparently remained high for this weekend.
"In practice, the intensity level is going to raise up a notch, and the focus is going to raise up," Connor said. "You don't need to tell anyone this is a big game. Everyone is focused, and we're ready for it."
Ohio State's last visit to State College was a memorable 2005 night game on national TV.
"Night games are awesome, especially the way the stadium's set up, especially with the crowd," Penn State kicker Kevin Kelly said. "Night games are absolutely insane. It makes us want to play better for the fans and everybody watching."
