Nick Saban takes unprovoked jab at Penn State ahead of White Out

No. 3 Penn State faces its first test of the 2025 season on Saturday with No. 6 Oregon coming to Happy Valley for a nighttime White Out. Nick Saban, though, isn't convinced that the boisterous environment favors the Nittany Lions (3-0) whatsoever.

"We played in a White Out here and it didn't help them much," Saban said on "The Pat McAfee Show."

In 2011, Saban and the Alabama Crimson traveled to Penn State for a daytime White Out and beat the Nittany Lions 27-11. Their defense couldn't respond to Alabama's run game, so it didn't matter who was in the stands or what noise buzzed around the stadium.

"I do think that the things I always tried to do with our team, when we played on the road, whether it was a Blackout, White Out or whatever it was, was to emphasize to the players that the fans don't make any plays in the game," Saban said.

Unlike when Saban came to Happy Valley, the Ducks (4-0) and Penn State are preparing for a top 10 battle. In 2011, the Nittany Lions were ranked 20th on the AP Top 25 Poll while the Crimson Tide visiting were No. 2. A No. 3 v. No. 6 matchup has huge playoff implications, especially with the blue and white playing its first Big Ten team and both going in undefeated.

If Oregon heads into Beaver Stadium with the same mentality Saban prepared his Alabama team with, it puts it one step closer to overcoming a challenging atmosphere. Playing at night, too, rather than during the day makes the White Out environment even more tense.

"You have to earn your momentum [on the road]. All that emotion, all that noise, is going against you," Saban said. "You earn your momentum through good execution. You’ve got to keep your players focused on that, and not what’s happening out here."

The Ducks played one game on the road so far in 2025 and came out with a 34-14 decisive win over Northwestern. Penn State has yet to take the road and hasn't played a Big Ten opponent. It's been very comfortable at home, even in times when the offense lacked or caused concerns.

Coming off a bye week is an additional advantage aside from the fan environment. If the Nittany Lions cleaned up their problems in Week 4 while Oregon focused on an in-state battle, they need to capitalize on their extra preparation and pull out an impressive fight to triumph over the Ducks. If they don't, it'll be a long road to playoffs and it'll need to immediately brush off the criticism that is bound to take place.