Greg McElroy says Penn State White Out was a bucket list item for him

ESPN college football analyst Greg McElroy is known for his time as the Alabama quarterback. He found tons of success there and remains connected to his school. However, he does appreciate plenty of traditions from around the sport as a whole.

As McElroy explained on his show Always College Football, he explained why the Penn State white out was a bucket list item for him.

“Now, it was first introduced, I was surprised by this, I thought it went back a little bit further,” McElroy said. “But it’s less than 20 years old. Introduced in 2004 and it was a way to kind of revive interest in a Penn State program that had, at that point, hadn’t been playing that well. But it’s quickly become one of college football’s most recognized traditions.”

The Penn State white out is always one of the most iconic games of the year. Typically, it’s going to come against one of the best Big Ten teams and be a key game for the Big Ten East race. In those games, the Nittany Lions are 10-8.

“Of course, Kirk Herbstreit has famously called it the best student section in the country. That was during the 2005 game between Ohio State and Penn State,” McElroy said.

“And Urban Meyer said it was the craziest atmosphere and that atmosphere alone was worth 10 points. Now, I was fortunate enough to be a part of the white out game last year for the very first time. They played Minnesota. It got sideways. I think it would have been maybe even a little more chaotic had they played against Ohio State, but I digress. Still, an amazing atmosphere and a bucket list activity for me to not only get to Penn State for a game but to be a part of the white out was one I will always be appreciative of, knowing that I’ve checked that off my bucket list.”

Going forward, those games could mean even more too, as the expanded College Football Playoff could be excellent for Penn State.

“I’m not necessarily convinced, at this moment right now in early April, that they are going to make a playoff run in 2023. I’m not convinced this year. But I am pretty convinced that they’re going to be around for a while. And when the playoffs expand? Penn State is going to be in a great spot,” McElroy said.

“Right now, you welcome in USC and UCLA. Where’s Penn State in the pecking order? Ohio State is one, Michigan is one. Then there’s a little bit of a gap. Is Penn State right behind USC? At three behind USC at two?…How far down the list do you have to get until you get to Penn State? Not very far. They’re in a pretty good spot. So, for the foreseeable future, they’re in really good shape.”

How close is Penn State to a championship?

There is a lot of excitement around Penn State right now, as the Nittany Lions are currently showing tons of potential. But how close to winning a national championship is Penn State really? Greg McElroy says they’re a quarterback away.

“Penn State would be a team that has been close before and has at many points in James Franklin’s tenure. They have gone toe to toe with Ohio State. Now I know that they haven’t always necessarily won the games, but they have been competitive and compared to the rest of the Big Ten East, not named Michigan the last couple of years, they’ve played them closer than pretty much anybody,” McElroy said.

“So Penn State has gone toe to toe against top tier competition before they’ve won Rose Bowls. They’ve played really, really high level football at times. They would be a team that I think could go over the hump very soon. If they get the quarterback position situated.”