Almost a year ago, Auburn players walked off the field at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pa., with their first defeat of the season, a heartbreaking 28-20 loss to Penn State in a game that the Tigers felt like they should have won.

“Last year was a hard pill to swallow for us because we knew we could have won that game, and we made mistakes along the way to help us lose that game,” Derrick Hall said.

John Samuel Shenker echoed his teammate’s thoughts.

“We think we should have won the football game, for sure,” the tight end said. “That has left a sour taste in our mouths for a year now.”

Now, Hall, Shenker and his teammates get the chance to avenge the loss as the Nittany Lions come to Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday, the first time a team from the Big Ten has visited the Plains. As Penn State had its annual “White Out” game last year against the Tigers, Auburn is planning to pay them back with an All-Orange game. Hall expects the atmosphere to be even better than it was in Pennsylvania last year.

“It was a great environment, obviously,” the edge rusher said. “Penn State believes they have one of the best environments in college football, but obviously we have the best here in Auburn.”

This game has been circled on the Tigers’ calendars for some time, likely dating back to that September day last year. While they couldn’t look ahead, having to take care of business against Mercer and San Jose State, Penn State week has arrived, and all of the attention is squarely on payback. A victory could also give Auburn the momentum it needs for the rest of the season.

“I think the guys are ready; we’re prepared and fired up, but yeah, I believe if we win this game, it’ll be a big confidence boost for us,” Hall said.