From a national perspective, the vast majority of the attention was paid to Ohio State losing rather than Penn State winning on Saturday night. That comes with the territory when one team is unbeaten and ranked as a top-two team in the country. But locally, the upset victory by the Nittany Lions was stunning and exciting enough to create chaos in the streets of Happy Valley.
Following the win, which was not complete until the wee hours of the morning, Penn State fans and students flooded the streets and, well, basically rioted. The Daily Collegian reports that at least 5,000, and as many as 10,000 people participated in the ruckus:
In addition, various forms of media have surfaced to describe the events, including vandalism and the use of fire:
In addition to visual and reported accounts, the State College Police Department also released this comprehensive report of what transpired:
"On 10-22-16 at 11:46 PM following the Penn State victory over Ohio State, State College Police responded to a large celebratory crowd in the 200 block of East Beaver Ave. where a crowd of approximately 5,000 to 10,000 gathered.
The crowd, which consisted mostly of college age men and women, damaged several street lights and street signs and started small fires in the street.
During the disturbance one vehicle was damaged and one person was injured when he was struck in the head with a bottle. The injured subject was taken to Mount Nittany Medical Center for treatment.
It took police approximately two hours to clear the streets and several arrests are pending.
State College Police were assisted by the Pennsylvania State Police and several local police agencies. No officers were injured during the incident.
We are encouraging anyone who took pictures or video of crimes being committed by participants during the gathering to submit the pictures or video to State College Police."
At this point, it appears that no one was hurt in the proceedings, but the police are still on the lookout for evidence in prosecuting people that were acting outside of the law and Happy Valley was certainly a spectacle on this particular evening in October.
