Bryan Harsin on PSU environment: 'If you're a guy that's worried about that, don't get on the plane'
Auburn visits a Big Ten team for a true road game for the first time since 1931 on Saturday night. And it’s not just any Big Ten venue. It’s Beaver Stadium at Penn State for their annual Whiteout Game.
Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin is well aware that his team will need to communicate with close to 110,000 fans doing everything in their power to disrupt the Tigers offense, but on the Wednesday Harsin said his players should welcome the challenge.
“We have a great environment here so we get to go to Penn State and play in their environment,” Harsin said. “They feel like they’ve got a great environment. It sure looks like it, and we’re going to get a chance to be a part of that.”
He said he’s been preaching to his team to be prepared and don’t get distracted by things out of their control. If someone can’t do that, he would like to know so he can find a replacement.
“All the other stuff that comes with it, [ESPN’s College] Gameday, all these other things, we don’t control that, but that’s the great part about the opportunities that we get, like that should be something that we all embrace and want to be a part of,” Harsin added. “If you’re a guy that is worried about that or shying away, don’t get on the plane. We’ll take somebody else. We’ll go out there and we’ll take a guy that has the mind right to go play and do their job in this game and we’ll go compete with him.”
Auburn is certainly doing their best to mimic the environment that will greet them in just over 48 hours. ESPN’s Holly Rowe visited Auburn practice on Wednesday and showcased just how loud it was as the Tigers prepared.
“We have speakers that can only go so loud,” Harsin said, emphasizing the practice environment is certainly not the real thing.
While the 87,451 seat-environment Jordan-Hare Stadium boasts surely is not small or unexciting, Penn State’s stadium is larger than any SEC stadium and the second-largest college football stadium in the nation behind Michigan.
When an opponent hosts College Gameday, Auburn is 1-6 all-time and has not won since 2004. The game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC. Penn State is currently a five-point favorite.