James Franklin calls for Penn State fan support ahead of Auburn

Penn State head coach James Franklin reached out to the Nittany Lions faithful on Sunday to show up in force for their Sep. 18 game against Auburn. Penn State will play at home Sep. 11 against Ball State, and Franklin wants fans to sell out their stadium.

James Franklin wants Penn State fan support

Following a great road win against 12th-ranked Wisconsin to open their season, Franklin is hoping to capitalize on the momentum Penn State built. Penn State entered the season ranked 19th in the nation and are hoping to rise after knocking off Wisconsin.

The next major matchup on their schedule is a home game against the Auburn Tigers who managed to score 60 points their opening week. Franklin asked fans to start a sellout streak for Penn State in their home of Beaver Stadium in preparation for their Sep. 18 game.

The Nittany Lions head coach called on fans to make Happy Valley a dominant home environment for his team this year.

“It would really be powerful if we started a sellout streak in Beaver Stadium, create a home field advantage like no other in college football! Let’s come together as a community like never before and show the world why this is ‘Happy Valley’! #WeAre. Let’s do it TOGETHER!”

Franklin on fans returning

Another key force in Penn State’s returning fan section is their designated White Out games. Their matchup with Auburn has already been labelled a White Out game, where the entire stadium will be full of fans wearing white in an energetic atmosphere.

Franklin himself has been waiting for the return of fans for this very reason. To him, the Penn State football fans are the lifeblood of Franklin’s football program.

“I can’t imagine what it would mean to get back to what we’ve been averaging [for attendance] the two years before the pandemic,” stated Franklin in April, via 247Sports. “That reaction of 106,000 fans for those two years and whatever we have to do to get that stadium back full. That’s for our community. That’s for state of Pennsylvania. That’s for our university. That’s for the athletic department and obviously, that’s for our football program.”

ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit has previously expressed his love of the Penn State crowd experience, calling the White Out game the best atmosphere in college football.

“It’s the best atmosphere, for me, in college football,” Herbstreit told reporters in 2019 while in town for a Penn State White Out game. “It’s just something about — not just the noise — but the energy and the pride that’s within that stadium. The way they sing along — like every person singing Sweet Caroline. I don’t know, it just feels like family, it feels like community, it feels like the fans have their team’s back. More so than any other situation or stadium that I’ve been in. A true test of that is when things go bad, the crowd gets even louder. Because instead of getting quieter, they get louder to try to pull their team home to a victory.”