The Ohio State coaching staff is doing everything it can to prepare players for an atmosphere similar to that of the Buckeyes' 2005 visit to Penn State.
The No. 1-ranked team in the country has practiced this week with loud rap and rock music blaring during drills, a preparation not unusual leading up to a road game.
But Buckeyes head coach Jim Tressel hasn't stopped there. Ohio State's practice soundtrack also includes the various noises heard over Beaver Stadium's public address system between plays.
"That sound effect they use, like the cat, the roar -- we just play that throughout practice," Ohio State cornerback Malcolm Jenkins said. "So when you hear it during game time, it's nothing new."
Even so, Buckeyes first-year starting quarterback Todd Boeckman knows that even the most complete stadium reconstruction won't get players ready for the uncomfortable reality they'll step into Saturday night before Penn State's mammoth crowd.
Boeckman didn't play in Ohio State's 17-10 loss to Penn State two seasons ago, but was on the sideline as a backup.
"Were going to be cranking the music up here," Boeckman said, "but I know it's not going to be the same feeling."
Loud noises on the practice field in Columbus, Ohio, aren't quite the same as the deafening noise and shaking ground in Beaver Stadium, two things players from both sides recalled from the '05 game.
"It affected us and got in our heads. We didn't play the game we usually do and that's why we lost," former Buckeyes offensive lineman T.J. Downing said last year.
That year, the uneasiness for Ohio State began before the team stepped on the field, during the walk from the visitors' locker room out to the field for warmups, Boeckman said.
Unlike at other college stadiums, players must pass through the concession level of Beaver Stadium and face rows of fans before reaching the field.
"They're on your back from the start," Boeckman said.
Then minutes later, the intensity and number of fans multiply.
"For our first kickoff, I looked up in the crowd and you can't hear anything," Penn State linebacker Sean Lee said. "The whole student section is all white. ... It was amazing."
In preparation for similar noise and anticipated communication problems on offense, Ohio State coaches handed out play-calling wristbands not only to their quarterback (a common practice around the country) but also wide receivers before the season started.
They've been using the bands all year, but the intent may have been to get used to them by the time this Saturday's game against Penn State arrived, Boeckman said.
"It's definitely going to help out with this noise factor we're going to have," he said.
Ohio State is 8-0 this year and has won road games at Washington, Minnesota and Purdue, the final one an outdoor night contest against a top-25 team.
This week, though, the Buckeyes are preparing for a completely different environment than normal, something only comparable to their last visit to Penn State -- the last time they lost a regular season game.
"None of those places are going to be like what we're going to see this weekend," Boeckman said.
