Northwestern Piles Up 413 Rushing Yards to Christen New Ryan Field

Northwestern opened its new $875 million Ryan Field by battering Penn State 34-13 behind 413 rushing yards and a sellout student-driven atmosphere.

Northwestern opened its new Ryan Field on Friday night, 100 years to the day after its predecessor debuted, and marked the occasion with a 34-13 rout of Penn State in a Big Ten clash of one-loss teams. The $875 million stadium, largely funded and led by the Ryan family, held a ribbon cutting with Pat Ryan Sr. before kickoff. Jackson Kleather's 50-yard field goal on the Wildcats' maiden drive was the first scoring in the new building, and coach David Braun called the night 'something that dreams are made of.'

The stat line that will make Big Ten defensive coordinators nervous: 506 yards of total offense, 413 of them on the ground, per the Fox News (OutKick) game report. Northwestern piled up 144 yards in the first quarter alone, 109 of them rushing, behind an offense coordinated by Chip Kelly.

Nothing went right for Penn State in the second half. Kicker Ryan Barker missed a crucial 45-yard field goal at the end of the first half while staring down the new European soccer-style 'Wildcat Wall' of students behind the south goalpost. On the first play of the fourth quarter, quarterback Rocco Becht threw an interception at midfield, and safety Robert Fitzgerald added a spectacular tumbling pick late to punctuate the win. Matt Campbell's Nittany Lions dropped to 3-2 and 0-2 in the Big Ten.

The surprising part is not that Northwestern won a home game, but the margin and manner. Penn State entered as a ranked program that had only just dropped out of the AP poll after a loss to Wisconsin, while Northwestern was coming off a near-upset of defending national champion Indiana. The Chicago Tribune notes the Wildcats unexpectedly walloped Colorado in the Martin Stadium finale on Sept.

The stadium's most distinctive feature is already shaping outcomes. The standing-only student section in the south end zone leaned over the railing in warmups, chanted at Penn State players and danced in blinking purple lights to AC/DC's 'Thunderstruck' as the team took the field. Linebacker Braydon Brus, who recorded his first career interception, said the students' noise and energy 'definitely played a big role in our success,' and Braun believes the venue can become the most deafening environment in the Big Ten.

The debut drew a sellout of the 35,000-seat stadium, the smallest capacity in the Big Ten, with 3,500 free student tickets and a 'Seats for Those Serving' program offering $25 tickets to public servants. The Evanston RoundTable reports entry runs entirely through the stadium app, the venue is cashless, and alcohol sales end after the third quarter under a new city ordinance. Northwestern stays home to host Ball State on Oct. 10, while Penn State returns home to face USC.