The Penn State Nittany Lions have improved to 3-0 on the road this season after winning the last two weekends at Michigan and at Northwestern. I was fortunate enough to be able to make both trips, as well as the earlier win at Illinois.

My trip to Michigan was my second time being at the Big House. I went in 2007 when the Wolverines beat Penn State. This time I was hoping that the Nittany Lions would be able to finally win in Michigan for the first time since 1996.

The trip was made possible by my parents, who drove some friends and I out to the game. We stayed at my dad’s friend’s house in Howell, MI, which is about 30 minutes north of Ann Arbor. I just want to throw a quick thank you out to the Langford’s, Rick, Ann, and the kids for letting us stay there and for all of their hospitality. Ann graduated from Michigan and both my dad and Rick are Penn State alumni.

Who knows, maybe we will be back up for Penn State’s fourth and final road game in East Lansing on November 21.

The game itself in the Big House felt a little different this time because of the new luxury and press boxes that were up (although not in use yet). The funny thing is I was sitting in just about the same spot I sat two years ago.

The weather was bad but the fact that Penn State played a really good game made the rain and wind bite a little less. It almost felt a little strange walking out of Michigan Stadium with a smile because of the 35-10 win.

The Northwestern trip had a little bit of a different feel to it than the Michigan one. For one, it was going to be Halloween weekend, in Chicago. I have a friend from home that goes to DePaul and lives in the city, so two friends and I rented a car for the weekend and drove out.

It was the first time I’ve been to Chicago or even passed through the city. Evanston and Ryan Field where Northwestern plays was pretty far from where my friend lived so we took the train, which was a fun experience within itself.

As for Ryan Field, I was not impressed. I guess, being from Penn State and playing games inside the enormous Beaver Stadium and having been on road games at the Big House and Ohio Stadium (and for what it’s worth even Memorial Stadium in Champaign) Ryan Field just felt a little small.

I also was a little disappointed that Northwestern fans didn’t fill the stadium for a game against a ranked opponent. The atmosphere wasn’t great, even with the Wildcats holding a 13-10 halftime lead.

The Nittany Lions scored 24 unanswered points in the second half and used two big plays to blow the game wide open. The first was a deep pass that Derek Moye caught for a touchdown and the second was Evan Royster’s 69-yard touchdown run.

On that run, Royster came right into the corner of the end zone, where I was in the third row. Apparently we ended up on ESPN’s broadcast; in the background because we immediately were receiving texts from friends watching that said they saw us.

These two great road trips for Penn State football were capped off by spending Halloween night at a bar in Chicago (I went as Phil from the movie The Hangover). It was a fun time and I say thank you to Kevin and his friends for treating us to a great time in Chicago.

Now, for the next two weeks I don’t have to worry about travel plans or if Penn State can go into another team’s stadium and win, all I have to do is walk 25 minutes to Beaver Stadium and watch them play Ohio State and Indiana. Then, plans for the Michigan State game will need to come into fruition, especially if Penn State heads into that game with a chance to earn a Big Ten title or at least a share of it.

Only time will tell if the that game will mean anything, but with the amount of fun that I have had on the three road trips so far this season, I almost wish the Nittany Lions didn’t have eight of their 12 games at home.