Oregon head coach Dan Lanning already understands what the Penn State whiteout game is all about. And perhaps he is already trying to find a way to undermine it a bit.
Lanning had some thoughts about preparing for the whiteout, which he shared in an interview with Zach Gelb of SIRIUSXM this week. Asked about how he prepares his team to enter Penn State’s iconic whiteout in Beaver Stadium on Saturday night, Lanning mentioned that the best way to control the noise is by controlling the game. This, of course, is sound logic (pun somewhat intended). But something Lanning said may ruffle a few feathers of Penn State fans a bit.
“[It’s] a whiteout cause we’re playing in it, right? It’s cause Oregon’s there,” Lanning asked rhetorically.
“And it’s a white out cause we’re playing in it, right? It’s cause Oregons there.” -Dan Lanning to me on the white out game against Penn State. @CoachDanLanning@InfSportsNethttps://t.co/04DvAZXju1pic.twitter.com/C6P2w1YZyu
— Zach Gelb (@ZachGelb) September 24, 2025
To be fair, Lanning is not wrong. Penn State typically uses the whiteout for the biggest game of the home schedule, and that typically comes against the top-ranked team scheduled to pay a visit to Happy Valley. Over the years, the whiteout has been reserved for home games against Ohio State or Michigan, and schools such as Auburn, Alabama, and Iowa have been welcomed by a whiteout crowd on occasion. This being Oregon’s first trip to Beaver Stadium as a Big Ten member made this game the most likely game to be given the full-blown whiteout treatment. And yes, this being a Big Ten championship game rematch against a legitimate playoff contender is a big part of the decision-making that goes into selecting the whiteout game.
So Lanning is not exactly out of line with suggesting the whiteout is because Oregon is in town. But he went on to suggest his team is helping to create the atmosphere, and that may be a good line in the sand for Penn State fans to draw.
This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Oregon’s Dan Lanning has poor take on Penn State whiteout
