Ohio State has played in front of raucous crowds before, but Maryland's 54,000 seat Byrd Stadium is a much different beast than the 107,000+ seat Beaver Stadium.
Ohio State expected the noise, and the Buckeyes pumped music and crowd noise into their practice in the week leading up to the game in preparation. But, nothing can truly simulate 107,000 people going ballistic during a night game, as Ohio State soon found out.
According to Joe Hermitt of PennLive.com, Beaver Stadium saw "several" early-season readings that topped out at 104 decibels. Against Michigan, it topped out at 103. (For comparison purposes, that's a little higher than the noise of a jackhammer.)
But when Penn State's 90-yard, fourth quarter drive culminated with Christian Hackenberg linking up with wide receiver Saeed Blacknail for a 24-yard touchdown pass to cut Ohio State's lead to 17-14, Beaver Stadium hit 111 decibels.
That's only five decibels off a thunderclap, and only 14 decibels off of when pain begins.
Those forced timeouts and false starts make a lot more sense now, don't they? Hats off to Penn State's fans in attendance; it was a whale of a performance.
