Nick Saban trolls Penn State over 2011 White Out game vs. Alabama: 'It didn't help them much'

Penn State is preparing for its biggest game in quite some time at home against Oregon in Week 5. The Nittany Lions are breaking out their famed White Out for the Big Ten showdown.

That had Nick Saban take a walk down memory lane. During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. There, Saban recollected his experience during a Penn State White Out while with Alabama.

“We played in a White Out here, and it didn’t help them much,” he laughed. Saban, of course, was pointing back to the Crimson Tide’s 27-11 victory over the Nittany Lions back in 2011.

In that game, AJ McCarron led Alabama to a win with 163 passing yards and a touchdown. But Trent Richardson was the real star, rushing for 111 yards and two touchdowns.

Penn State will be hoping for a different result against Oregon. Saban provided some insight into how his teams handled raucous crowds like the Nittany Lions’ White Out, and perhaps the Ducks should take some notes.

“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.

“That can have an impact — especially on the offensive line, with false starts and those types of things that put you behind the sticks. But I really tried to emphasize to the players that those circumstances, those external factors like a whiteout, don’t actually impact the game.

“What matters is what you do inside the 53 yards wide and 100 yards deep. 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.

“Now, if you don’t handle it, if you’ve got a young team that’s not very mature, then it will have an impact. Because on the road, you have to earn your momentum. All that emotion, all that noise, is going against you. You earn your momentum through good execution. You’ve got to keep your players focused on that, and not what’s happening out here.”

Perhaps no one was better than Saban in preparing his teams for moments like that. He won’t make any new fans in Happy Valley due to his comments, but time will tell if Oregon’s Dan Lanning can follow in his footsteps and lead the Ducks to a win on Saturday evening.