Every college football institution has its own environment, its own traditions, and its own fan culture. Whether it’s firing cannons with each score or learning particular cheers for a given opponent, traditions are a big part of what make college football great, and few are as visually potent as Penn State’s annual “White Out” game.

This weekend, the Nittany Lions will host the Oregon Ducks in a Big Ten showdown of Top 10 teams on NBC and Peacock, and it’ll be a chance for Penn State fans to get in on the effort in a big, hopefully memorable way. So, what is the White Out? Let’s take a quick look.

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What is the Penn State White Out game?

If you’re heading out to a football game, there’s a good chance you’re going to wear clothes that reflect which team you’re rooting for, but beyond simply remembering the school colors, fans don’t typically coordinate attire. If your team is blue and white, like Penn State, you might show up in blue, or white, or any combination thereof. 

But what if you want to show an opposing team coming into your house that there are simply way more of you than there are of them? Well, that’s where the “color out” games come in. The idea is simple: You get the word out that all fans should be wearing the same color, and if everyone participates, by the time the visitors take the field, they’re surrounded by so many fans dressed alike that they feel like they’re facing an army. It’s visually striking, but psychologically it’s a way for a home team to let visitors know they’ve got very little support in the stadium. 

At Penn State, that takes the form of the White Out game, where the home crowd descends on Pennsylvania’s Beaver Stadium dressed in white, creating a wave of white across the stadium that looks especially impressive under the lights for night games. 

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When did Penn State’s White Out tradition start?

According to an overview of the tradition over at SB Nation, the White Out started in 2004 as a student initiative, and by 2007 it had taken over the entirety of Beaver Stadium to become an annual tradition for all Penn State fans who attend the designated game. There’s a new official White Out shirt made each year, though fans can wear whatever white shirts they’d like, and if you look closely you can often see fans sporting White Out shirts from previous seasons in the stands. 

And while White Out is an annual tradition, it’s not solely a once-a-year thing. Penn State can break out the White Out call for more than one important game, just as they did last season when they hosted SMU at home for the first round of the College Football Playoff.

For more college football news, head to NBC Sports – and be sure to catch the “White Out” game this Saturday night, when Penn State takes on Oregon for a Top 10, Big Ten matchup in primetime, only on NBC and streaming on Peacock.