Penn State fans embrace College GameDay

Earlier in the week, Rece Davis, host of ESPN's College GameDay, called for a white out at the show on Old Main lawn. Saturday morning, he got his wish.

The show was full of energy, from guest speakers James Franklin and Ki-Jana Carter sharing analysis and picks, to the 82-year-old Lee Corso crowd surfing. Yes, you read that right.

Fans started lining up in the middle of the night in order to secure spots close to the stage. College GameDay is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning pregame show that is broadcast from 9 a.m. to noon every Saturday.

Franklin arrived to the set around 11:15 a.m. with his wife and daughters, who were dressed fully in white.

When he went onstage about 15 minutes later, ESPN showed footage of Keegan-Michael Key, comedian and Penn State alumnus, who does an impressive Franklin impression.

When the shot panned back to Franklin, the fourth-year head coach confirmed it was really him on the stage, not Key. He brought "white out grilled stickies" and gave them to Maria Taylor.

Fans carried out a tradition of the show, making creative signs with the hopes of appearing on TV. There was a wide range of sayings this time around.

"Roses are red. Penn State is blue. Maize is ugly, and Michigan lost to MSU."

"Harbaugh uses Myspace."

And one for the Philly fans: "Jim Harbaugh does not trust the process."

Carter, a former Nittany Lion running back who had a seven-year NFL career, was the show's guest picker. In the final minutes, he picked Penn State to win, while Desmond Howard picked his alma mater, Michigan. Corso's pick was the tie breaker.

He teased fans by pulling out a Michigan helmet and talking about the Wolverine's 49-10 crushing of Penn State last year. Then, Corso tossed the helmet to Howard and took out a Nittany Lion head.

No. 2 Penn State and No. 19 Michigan will face off at 7:30 p.m. in Beaver Stadium.