Penn State won’t need extra fuel against Buffalo, not with more than 100,000 people in the stands most weeks. But Saturday brings a different kind of spotlight, and a few Nittany Lions are clearly aware of it.
The program’s 1986 national championship team - Penn State’s second and most recent claimed title team - will be honored at halftime. D.J. Dozier, an All-American running back in 1986 and a first-round pick in 1987, will serve as the honorary captain and handle the coin toss.
For players such as defensive end Caleb Bacon and tight end Gabe Burkle, both of whom followed Matt Campbell from Iowa State, that makes the day feel even bigger. Bacon said Campbell told the team that “there’s going to be like 60 or 70 of those guys back this weekend,” and the chance to be around that kind of history clearly means something to him.
“It’s super cool to be able to witness guys who have done it before. Obviously, that’s ultimate goal for any any team playing in college football.”
Bacon said the part he hopes the 1986 group notices most is the way this team plays - especially the energy and urgency on every snap. He also pointed to the legends from that championship squad, including Blair Thomas, Dave Szott, Steve Wisniewski and Shane Conlan, as the kind of names that still define what Penn State football looks like.
“I think the main thing is just the effort that we play with, how you attack the opposing team,” Bacon said. “I think that’s going to be the main thing that you know grabs their attention. And when when those guys that came back and talked to us, those previous Letterman, I think that’s kind of the main thing because they want to see the how how we represent Penn State moving on throughout this conversation.”
Campbell has made a point of bringing lettermen from every era back to speak with the team, part of an effort to keep Penn State’s history front and center.
Burkle said that connection matters.
“We’re super blessed to have people like that in our history that we can rely on and go back and watch their film or talk to them,” Burkle said. “We can reach out ask them what their teams are like and try to create that ourselves. We want to make them proud.”
In Other News...
Beaver Stadium Is Finally Addressing A Penn State Fan Frustration
Beaver Stadium is getting a long-awaited fix to one of the most familiar headaches for Penn State fans, with the schools Board of Trustees Finance and Investment Committee approving a 10-year deal with AT&T to upgrade cellular service at the venue. The new system is expected to be in place for the 2027 football season, and interim improvements are already being made this fall as part of the broader push to make the stadium experience less frustrating on game day.
The upgrade will bring a new distributed antenna system designed to improve coverage and increase bandwidth capacity across the stadium, a notable addition as Beaver Stadium nears completion of its $700 million renovation. For a fan base that has dealt with spotty service for years, the timing matters almost as much as the technology, even if the full payoff is still a couple of seasons away. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Fans Have One Gameday Concern Before Buffalo Kickoff
A comfortable start is on tap for Penn States noon kickoff against Buffalo at Beaver Stadium, with meteorologist Joe Murgo calling for temperatures in the upper 60s and a steady south-southeast wind. It should feel like a pretty good early-season football afternoon for much of the game, but there is enough movement in the forecast to keep fans paying attention as the hours wear on.
Murgo also flagged the possibility of showers or thunderstorms by the end of the game, which means a dry tailgate might not stay that way for long. For the Penn State crowd, the practical advice is simple: bring layers, pack rain gear, and give yourself extra time to get through the traffic headed into State College. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Wrestling Is Loaded Again Heading Into Title Chase
InterMats preseason rankings for the 2026-27 wrestling season only reinforced what everyone around Penn State already knows: the Nittany Lions are once again built to chase a title. The rankings placed several Penn State wrestlers at No. 1 in their weight classes, a familiar sign of the depth and star power that has made the program the standard in college wrestling.
Mitchell Mesenbrink headlines the group at 174 pounds after winning a national title, and his presence is part of a lineup that looks loaded before the first whistle of the season. InterMats top-four weight-class rankings and top-five team list will fuel plenty of debate, but for Penn State the bigger takeaway is simple: the road to the top still runs through State College. [Read more 🡒]