STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — With 9:21 left in the first quarter yesterday, Penn State running back Bill Belton fumbled the football, ending an 11 play, 67-yard drive that had the crowd at Beaver Stadium gushing over the Nittany Lions’ new-look offense.
“Hell of a drive,” said Tyler Davis, a sophomore.
Davis, along with the rest of the student section, had an unusually positive attitude over the costly turnover, which helped contribute to Ohio’s 24-14 win in the first game since the Jerry Sandusky scandal broke last fall.
“In past seasons, the student section has been pretty ruthless and unwilling to accept anything but the best from our football team,” Davis said.
Davis said he felt Belton’s fumble would have warranted some serious heckling from the crowd in the past, yet noted that after the play students continued to cheer and applaud the Lions as they ran off the field.
On a second-and-5 situation, senior quarterback Matt McGloin scrambled outside of the pocket to buy time only to be tackled, losing the football in the process as he attempted to toss it forward to Belton. The play was determined an incomplete pass as Belton was deemed an ineligible receiver.
Rather than jeers, McGloin and the rest of the offense received nothing but praise and positive encouragement from the crowd.
McGloin, usually one of the student section’s more heavily scrutinized players, found Nittany nation to be nothing short of encouraging throughout the game.
“Everyone really brought it today, the fans were loud and energetic and we really couldn’t have asked for anything more,” McGloin said.
Sophomore Jeff Condit said he felt the student section and crowd in general was a lot more positive than he remembered.
“I think we all just made an extra point of it to be more enthusiastic today,” Condit said. “These players stayed to play and represent our school, so in return we have to give them our 100 percent support.”
Condit also said he felt the students were impressive in cheering for what he called the “little plays.” He said students cheered after a short run, even an incomplete pass, just to prove a point the players had their full support and encouragement.
As usual, the stadium consistently provided a loud atmosphere for the game, with the students continuing to stand on their feet and cheer for the entire game — a Penn State student section tradition.
Sophomore Josh Volpe summarized the game as a turning point in the Penn State football books with the hope that now that the season has begun, the Sandusky sex abuse scandal finally can be put in the past and won’t be all that’s talked about when Penn State is brought up.
“It was a pretty emotional moment when the players all came out from underneath the tunnel and took the field because everyone waiting knew that was what meant we had started a new era at Penn State,” Volpe said.