No. 6 Penn State football is gearing up to face Northwestern football on the road this weekend, and they're preparing for the game in a hilarious way. Coach James Franklin is making his team practice without music to get ready for the lack of crowd noise at Ryan Field. Franklin also joked that the quiet atmosphere would ensure his players are “internally” motivated and not just pumped up during games because of the crowd noise, per The Athletic's Audrey Snyder.
This is of course the opposite approach of when many teams will either use loud music or pump fake crowd noise during practice to prepare for rowdy stadiums when the players can't hear the play calls. However, Northwestern has only averaged 17,500 fans this season, the lowest amount in the Big Ten, per Kevin Sweeney of Sports Illustrated.
The Nittany Lions may not even need the extra preparation since they are 26.5 point favorites over the Wildcats. Penn State has gotten off to a terrific 4-0 start to the season under James Franklin. Though expectations were optimistic going into the season, the Nittany lions are playing even better than expected under quarterback Drew Allar. They already have wins over West Virginia, Delaware, Illinois, and Iowa, and will look to snag their fifth over the Wildcats.
Meanwhile, Northwestern is a respectable 2-2, especially after a horrific hazing scandal plagued the program this offseason. The Wildcats have won both of there games at home, but will easily face their toughest test of the season so far going up against the Nittany Lions.