The difficulty of playing against Penn State in a White Out in Beaver Stadium is known far and wide.
Just because it’s difficult doesn’t mean it can’t be mastered.
Former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer was 3-1 in Penn State White Out matchups, but always had respect for the game’s difficulty.
Another legendary coach in college football didn’t see the White Out as a big challenge relative to other road games.
Former Alabama coach and current ESPN analyst Nick Saban had his Crimson Tide as subjects to the 2011 White Out, which Alabama won 27-11.
“We played in a White Out here, and it didn’t help them much,” Saban said while making an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.”
“I do think the thing I always tried to emphasize with our team when we went on the road — whether it was a blackout, a whiteout, whatever it was — was that the fans don’t make any plays in the game,” Saban told McAfee. “Yes, there’s going to be noise, and we’ll have to handle the noise like we do in all road environments.”
Saban’s accomplishments are numerous in nature between winning seven national championships, 11 SEC conference championships and an 104-48 record against AP-ranked opponents – the most ranked wins by any coach in NCAA history (Joe Paterno is second with 86).
“What matters is what you do inside the 53 yards wide and 100 yards deep,” Saban said. “That’s what makes the difference in the game. You’ve got to make the opposing fans sit on their hands — you do that with good execution. That’s why I always took the opposite approach.”
While many Penn State fans may be taken aback by Saban’s words, there was very little if anything that Saban didn’t conquer.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Throughout his time at Alabama, Saban won 63 of 74 true road games, that on top of all the accomplishments I previously mentioned is why Saban is seen as the greatest coach of all time.
When you couple Saban’s process in preparation and approach to major games, it should come to no surprise that he wasn’t phased by the “White Out.”
