Beaver Stadium didn’t break records, but it didn’t break hearts as well. If you dig out the recent memory, Penn State wrecked havoc on SMU in a boiling playoff game. A 38-10 win marked the fourth whiteout of Penn State football of the ongoing season. I mean, all the prompt TDs, accurate passes, and consistent momentum are all right, but it’s the 107,000 crowd that cut the ice.

An infectious enthusiasm among the psyche d up home crowd doubled the hunger for a win. After buying 106,013 tickets, about 500 short of a sell-out, fans tangibly set the tone right for a blowout night. James Franklin and his team were worried that the home game wouldn’t hit the same due to the changed management style of the college football games. Also, the stadium didn’t play out well in the big games. But moving past all the doubts and fears, it delivered.. and again, the team owes it to the fans and their unwavering support.

Penn State will host another game against Notre Dame this Thursday, but this time in a neutral setting. The fans should travel 17 hours to Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium to watch their players shine. It is all worth it. After all, two blue blood programs will lock horns and vest their all to clinch a ticket to the final of a resounding college football season. It begs the question: will the Penn State crowd be a showstopper again? Well, the uneven ticket sales already pose a threat to the ND fans.

A Fighting Irish fan on Reddit randomly showed how the digital visual of the ticket sailing graph is more inclined to the Penn State side. He spotted more grey areas (that denote the sold seats) on the north side (Penn State side) rather than the Notre Dame side.

What does that mean? Is there something of a theory like ‘lesser crowd, lesser the chance of a dominant win? Well, fans have their own interpretation ahead of a marquee Orange Bowl.

Notre Dame fans freak out over the stern lesser crowd reality 

Well, it’s an undebatable truth that a thick of fans oozes out unbridled positive energy. It works as a strong psychological weapon to boost the mojo. If the rest works in alignment, the team will feel more revitalized than usual, even in the extreme thrust. But it never guarantees you a win, nevertheless. Look at OSU’s dominant win over the Nittany Lions in Beaver Stadium. One fan pointed out the sagacity behind it and wrote, ‘‘Game is won on the field anyway with these neutral site games. Beaver Stadium is supposed to be a massive home-field advantage for PSU, but OSU never has a problem winning there, so why should ND worry about their fans in a neutral setting?”

But the fans’ instinct always worries about the worst as a mother does for their child, even at the most insignificant inconveniences. Their insecurity speaks; ‘We’re f***ed.’ Well, on the flip. Even if not an end line, they have some reasons to be anxious about. Apart from the ticket sailing graph, you can see the same picture at Harrisburg International Airport as well. The area turned blue and white as hundreds of PSU fans jetted to the south for the semifinals. A user accumulated the scene and raised doubts about the ND side fans: ”I know plenty of State fans that went to the game. I don’t know if any ND fans are going.”

However, there is a reason why Notre Dame fans looked a bit indifferent to the Nittany Lions. The Fighting Irish did an excellent job carrying their team to a historic semifinal with a lofty 13-1 record, no doubt. But nobody saw it coming earlier in the season. It was not at all a predictable ballgame. ”Many ND fans didn’t necessarily have this game on their radar because who could’ve confidently said we were going to beat UGA,” another fan got the math right.

Another football freak, however, purely blames it on the lackluster enthusiasm of the ND fans and dismissed their ‘Travelling’ fan base tag. ”The ND fan base has always been dubbed a well-traveling fan base, although I feel like I’ve never really seen that be the case.” He added that Irish fans usually hold a maximum weightage of 40 percent in a neutral big brands game.

However, all these factors can turn out to be a nonissue if the Fighting Irish suits up to fight!