When Penn State visits Northwestern tonight, the biggest storyline may not be the matchup itself. It may be the building.
New Ryan Field is set to make its debut as a 35,000-seat, on-campus stadium, and the spotlight is going to land squarely on the place. The project cost $870 million, making it the most expensive college football stadium ever, and it was funded entirely with private money. That alone guarantees plenty of attention, especially with premium seating, the closeness of the seats to the field and the steep standing-only student section all likely to get plenty of airtime.
That kind of coverage is easy to predict. When a new facility opens, the broadcast script tends to write itself: sideline shots, concourse walk-throughs, aerial views, and a lot of discussion about how the stadium fits the program.
Early media tours have already pointed to a clear takeaway - Northwestern appears to have landed on a size and setup that fits who it is as a football program. It is intimate, and yes, small, especially next to Beaver Stadium, but it also looks like a practical match for a school without a deep football tradition or consistent big-time support.
Penn State fans may have to sit through that messaging tonight, but they probably won’t mind much when renovated Beaver Stadium gets its turn in the spotlight next season.
Steve Jones has already gotten a look at New Ryan Field. Penn State’s longtime radio play-by-play voice toured it in February while the men’s basketball team was in Chicago, and he did so with Northwestern’s Dave Eanet. When Jones calls the game, it will be the 65th different stadium in which he has handled a Penn State football broadcast.
“Give Northwestern credit. Between their basketball arena and this, they understand who they are,” Jones said.
Jones also noted that the visiting radio booth should be in a solid sideline location. For him, that’s just part of the job. He and his broadcast partners, Jack Ham and Brian Tripp, have worked through enough different setups to know location is only one piece of the puzzle.
“Almost everywhere in the Big Ten is good,” Jones said. “We've been in places with bad vantage points before. Our broadcast booth was behind home plate for the Pinstripe Bowl in Yankee Stadium -- good for baseball but not as much for football.
“Nobody cares about your issues. But it doesn't mean there aren't tough places to do it. In the end, it's your job to figure it out.”
Last week’s Penn State-Wisconsin broadcast on Peacock and NBC got a strong review, with Dave Flemming and Matt Cassel delivering a polished, steady performance. The booth was informative, timely and willing to challenge play calling and clock management in a way many crews avoid.
Flemming also made repeated and accurate references to Penn State’s Rocco Becht as the most experienced quarterback in college football, which added useful context to the game. And the production team did its part too, offering graphics that showed how long it had been since Wisconsin had won a conference road game and how long it had been since the Badgers had won at Penn State.
Those numbers mattered, and the broadcast treated them that way.
One issue that keeps surfacing at Beaver Stadium is the sideline itself. The space between the field and the fan seating is tight, but the bigger concern is how many people are down there who do not need to be there. From home, the congestion is hard to miss, and it raises obvious questions about why so many credentialed people on the sideline are not working media or team and athletic staff.
In college athletics, where every possible dollar gets squeezed out of the operation, it is no shock that donors and other hangers on are being ushered onto the field during games. Still, the number of people crowding the sideline feels excessive, and at times it looks unsafe for the players.
With fewer bodies down there, fans in the stadium and watching on TV might also have a better shot at seeing the field-level advertisements.
There were also a few other broadcast notes worth mentioning. Penn State’s loss may not have helped the team or its most loyal supporters, but it certainly gave media and social platforms plenty to chew on afterward. CBS also earned praise for how it handled the finish of Iowa’s win over Michigan, with the network showing the key angles of the game-winning touchdown quickly and clearly.
As for the noise inside Beaver Stadium last week, Wisconsin’s late penalties seemed more tied to the Badgers’ lack of discipline than to crowd volume. The building was loud, and it sounded loud on TV, but the audio still felt uneven or perhaps even exaggerated.
And the college football ad game? Dr Pepper and State Farm keep delivering. Their campaigns remain funny, timely and effective, and if more broadcasts matched that level, the sport would be in even better shape.
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What stands out most is the way Grunkemeyer is being described by opposing coaches, who have praised his decision-making and his ability to protect the ball. For Penn State, it is the kind of development that can make an offseason transfer look even more notable, especially when the Nittany Lions are still sorting through their own identity on offense. [Read more 🡒]
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Spell has a visit to Athens scheduled, which only adds to the stakes for every other program still trying to get him back in the fold. For Penn State, the challenge is obvious: turn an old relationship into a fresh reason to reconsider, all while navigating a race that includes multiple major programs for one of the top running backs in the country. [Read more 🡒]
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The move also adds another layer to an already familiar pipeline between two of the leagues most recognizable front offices, since it is the third transaction in the past two years between Steelers general manager Omar Khan and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. For Penn State fans, it is a notable twist for one of the programs most visible recent pros, and one that now sends his next chapter to a new contender with plenty of attention still attached. [Read more 🡒]