Penn State Invites Minnesota to the White Out

Why not Ohio State? The Buckeyes arrive the following week for the Stripe Out at Beaver Stadium.

Minnesota gets its first taste of the Penn State White Out in 2022, while Ohio State visits for the Stripe Out, as the Nittany Lions announced their game themes for the upcoming season.

Most notable is the designation of Minnesota's Oct. 22 visit to Beaver Stadium as the 2022 White Out game. Penn State already had announced a 7:30 EST kickoff for that game, which also serves as Homecoming, so the White Out was a likely addition.

This will be Minnesota's first appearance in a Penn State White Out, which also marks offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca's return to Beaver Stadium. Ciarrocca served as Penn State's offensive coordinator in 2020, when the Lions hosted Ohio State for a fanless White Out. Penn State also will wear its alternative "Generations of Greatness" uniforms against Minnesota.

Ohio State gets a reprieve this year. The Buckeyes had been Penn State's White Out opponent for four consecutive visits from 2012-18. Former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said the White Out represented a 10-point home advantage for the Lions, who are 9-8 in White Out games.

Instead, Penn State will deploy the Stripe Out against Ohio State for what likely will be a noon kickoff on FOX. Fans wear blue and white in alternating sections for the Stripe Out game, which the program has held several times in recent years.

Hosting the White Out for a prime-time game against Minnesota, rather than for a potential noon game against Ohio State, makes sense. The weekend serves as the most important in-season recruiting date, with several hundred players and family members making the trip. Penn State has a better chance of drawing players to a night game than to a noon start.

Further, the Buckeyes still have a 3-2 record in White Out games, albeit with a one-point victory in 2018 and a double-overtime win in 2014.

For its Sept. 24 game against Central Michigan, Penn State will reunite members of the 1982 national championship team to celebrate its 40th anniversary. Penn State will host its annual Military Appreciation Day on Nov. 12 against Maryland.

Senior Day is scheduled for Nov. 26 against Michigan State.

Public single-game tickets for Penn State's 2022 football season go on sale June 16.

Here's a look at Penn State's updated 2022 schedule:

Sept. 1: at Purdue (8 p.m. EST on FOX)

Sept. 10: OHIO (Noon EST on ABC)

Sept. 17: at Auburn (3:30 p.m. EST on CBS)

Sept. 24: CENTRAL MICHIGAN

Oct. 1: NORTHWESTERN

Oct. 15: at Michigan

Oct. 22: MINNESOTA (7:30 p.m. EST, Network TBD)

Oct. 29: OHIO STATE

Nov. 5: at Indiana

Nov. 12: MARYLAND

Nov. 19: at Rutgers

Nov. 26: MICHIGAN STATE

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AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich. And consider subscribing (button's on the home page) for more great content across the SI.com network.