Penn State players visit "Paternoville"

To try to get front-row seats in the student section for Saturday's game against Alabama, Penn State students began pitching tents outside Gate A of Beaver Stadium on Monday afternoon.

As of Thursday, 112 tents were set up with a total of 950 campers at the aptly named "Paternoville." The turnout is among the largest in Paternoville history, said John Tecce, the president of the Paternoville Coordination Committee. Though it feels like it hasn't stopped raining this week here in Happy Valley, not one tent has dropped out of Paternoville, Tecce said.

It is customary for members of the Penn State team to visit to interact with campers during the week. On Thursday evening, dozens of Nittany Lions – including quarterbacks Rob Bolden and Matt McGloin, running back Silas Redd and wide receiver Derek Moye – stopped by to mingle with fans at Paternoville. The players took pictures and signed autographs. Some Lions even played games of trashcan football, a commonly played game at Paternoville consisting of tossing a pigskin into a large trashcan from about 20 yards away.

"It's unbelievable," McGloin said. "I don't picture myself doing it especially with the weather conditions we've had this past week. That just shows you what kind of support you have from the student section here at Penn State."

--Jake Kaplan