EUGENE — It is the most hostile road environment in the Big Ten and one of the most iconic atmospheres in college football: The Penn State White Out.

A tradition that began with the student section in 2004 morphed into an annual full-stadium, 100,000-plus visual effect that began in 2007.

When No. 6 Oregon kicks off against No. 3 Penn State on Saturday (4:30 p.m., NBC) it will be the 18th full-stadium White Out at Beaver Stadium.

“That’s part of what makes college football fun is it’s a real one to get to go play in,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said. “We’ve got a great atmosphere here; it’s been an asset for us. I’m sure they’re counting on it being an asset for them. Play the game, not the occasion.”

While many FBS schools have some type of special color scheme for particular games, Penn State takes the home field advantage to another level with its White Out intimidation. All Penn State fans attending the game are encouraged to wear a white top, like a T-shirt, shirt or sweatshirt. The White Out tradition of nearly two decades is famous enough that it has its own Wikipedia page.

Penn State coach James Franklin once said years ago that “a ‘White Out’ game day is something you don’t really understand unless you can come experience it for yourself.”

The Nittany Lions have an 11-6 record during full-stadium White Out games. Five of those six losses came against top-15 ranked teams: Alabama, Michigan, and Ohio State.

One of the most iconic moments in the past 10 years of college football came during the 2019 White Out against Michigan. When the song “Mo Bamba” played after the opening kickoff, the Wolverines offense could not hear and had to call timeout before the first play of the game. That emboldened the 110,669 in attendance for more in what went on to be a 28-21 Penn State win that started its current six-game White Out win streak.

Lanning said the Ducks will practice with the song playing this week, and without using in-helmet communication for quarterback Dante Moore, to try to simulate the noise that awaits them in Happy Valley.

“We’ll do everything we can to be prepared for that environment for sure,” Lanning said. “I don’t love that song.”

Oregon linebacker Bryce Boettcher was hoping to hear the hit hip hop song to get the full White Out experience.

“You play football for a lot of reasons, but those big games and those big spots, you can’t beat it,” Boettcher said. “That’s why you put on the pads and that’s why you train all offseason.”

Noise is less of an issue when Penn State’s offense is on the field, but Oregon’s defense is still expecting the noise to be unmatched by recent road trips, including Michigan and Wisconsin last season.

“It might be the loudest stadium I’ve been in,” edge rusher Matayo Uiagalelei said. “I feel confident in our team and I know we’re a team that’s ready for challenges and we want the challenges. It’s a blessing to go out on that kind of stage and play ball.”

Penn State is 8-3 in White Out games during James Franklin’s tenure as coach, with six straight wins and the only losses coming to Michigan and Ohio State. The Nittany Lions also beat Michigan twice, a then-No. 2 Ohio State and a College Football Playoff win over SMU during that span.

“When you run out on the field and after the game you get to look around and see the spectacle that was created by Nittany Nation, there’s no words for what that is,” Penn State center Nick Dawkins said. “I’m expecting big things from our fans during that game, the noise that they’re going to generate.”

Five of Penn State’s top 10 most-attended games have been White Outs, each of which topped 110,000 in what is officially an 106,572 capacity venue.

It’s a road environment Lanning was personally looking forward to before the season.

“You don’t fill up a stadium with 100,000 people unless there’s some pride in performance,” Lanning said. “Getting to see that first-hand will be fun.”

A top 10 matchup featuring a rematch of last year’s Big Ten Championship game is expected to be among those ranks. Franklin implored his fan base to be on its feet all game long.

“We need this place rocking,” Franklin said. “Need to have a distinct home field advantage. We always do, but, I’m expecting this to be an environment like, like no one has ever seen.

“We want to make it clearly obvious to everybody what is the most challenging and difficult environment to play in all of sports, let alone college football.”

No. 6 Oregon (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) at No. 3 Penn State (3-0)

• When: Saturday, Sept. 27
• Time: 4:30 p.m. PT
• Where: Beaver Stadium, University Park, PA
• TV channel: NBC/Peacock
• Watch: You can watch this game live for free with Fubo (free trial), with DirecTV (free trial) or streaming live on demand with Peacock.
• Stream: DirecTV (free trial) or Fubo (promotional offers) or Peacock ($10.99/month) or Sling (college football season pass is just $199). Streaming broadcasts for this game will be available on these streaming services locally in Oregon and Washington, but may not be available outside of the Pacific Northwest, depending on your location.