Nick Saban is high on this year’s Penn State team, which opens the season Saturday against WVU in Morgantown.
The legendary coach, now an analyst at ESPN, has PSU as one of his 12 teams in his College Football Playoff.
But Saban also knows Penn State’s season opener won’t be a walk in the park.
“There’s a buzzsaw in Morgantown,” Saban said on the Pat McAfee Show, which was held in Morgantown before screaming WVU fans Friday afternoon. “It’s a hard place to play. The fans there have great passion. It’s going to make it very difficult for Penn State. Especially in the opener, to manage the noise, to sort of manage the game to be able to stay focused on execution and not get sidetracked on any of the other things that are going on because it’s going to be difficult for them. And you’re always worried, as a coach, in the first game about how your team is going to execute, and that’s going to be really, really a challenge for them playing on the road, at West Virginia in the first game.”
The game is scheduled to kickoff at noon on Fox.
For Saban, that noon kick will play to the advantage of the defenses.
“I really think that, and there’s some statistical information on this, that it’s more difficult to play good defense on the road at night, for whatever reason,” he said. “Maybe it’s the passion of the crowd, I don’t know what it is. I personally never liked to play at noon because I liked players to be in a rhythm of when they practice and all that. I can’t tell you if it’s an advantage or a disadvantage, but some people like to get up and play and get it going and get it on, and West Virginia feels that way about it.”
"Morgantown is a hard place to play and the fans there have great passion..
It's gonna be very difficult for Penn State especially because it's the opener" ~ Nick Saban#WVUPMSLive https://t.co/Wyj2zhHRNF pic.twitter.com/4EYu8XImQW
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) August 30, 2024
For Saban, a challenge for West Virginia— which comes in as 7.5-point underdogs— is going to be getting its running game going.
WVU has two strong running backs in Jaheim White (842 yards, four touchdowns, 7.7 yards per carry in 2023) and CJ Donaldson Jr. (798 yards, 11 TD, 4.7 YPC), but Penn State’s defensive line could also be one of the best in the country.
“I think that West Virginia’s proven that they can run the ball effectively against just about anybody they play,” he said. “I think that’s going to be the challenge for them against Penn State. Penn State’s a very good defensive team and they like to pressure a lot and create negative plays.”
Another key against Penn State, of course, is WVU QB Garrett Greene.
“I think if the quarterback for West Virginia can create a little balance in the game for them, be able to throw the ball effectively, that will have a huge impact on the game,” he said.
Saban was born in Fairmont, West Virginia, which is less than a half hour from Morgantown and coached defensive backs at WVU from 1978-79.
He said on the season’s first episode of College GameDay Aug. 24 that he’s a Mountaineer, and six days later, got a large crowd singing the state’s signature song.
“Tell them all we’re still singing Country Roads, man,” he said.
