Nick Saban Takes A Blowtorch To Penn State's Whiteout Tradition

As I discussed earlier today, tradition is what makes college football so great.

Few traditions can rival Penn State's "Whiteout," though.

Where else will you find 100,000-plus rabid fans screaming their heads off as your team goes up against a sea of white shirts that feels like it's crashing in on them?

The Nittany Lions even have one of the most famous examples of crowd noise affecting a game during their 2019 whiteout against Michigan, with a little assist from Sheck Wes.

I'm not even a Penn State fan, but that clip still brings a smile to my face to this day.

On Friday's episode of the Will Cain Country podcast, former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer was asked about the most difficult places to play in college football as an opponent. At the very top of his list was Death Valley.

"Penn State at night, Whiteout, is the toughest place to play in college football," Meyer said. "… I still have nightmares about Death Valley at night."

Not everyone is impressed with Penn State's famous brand of home cooking, though.

Former Alabama head coach and seven-time national championship winner, Nick Saban, was on The Pat McAfee show on Friday and seemed rather nonchalant when it came time to discuss Penn State's whiteout this weekend against Oregon.

Talk about a mic drop!

Okay, I know what everyone is thinking. That Alabama-Penn State game took place in 2011, the final season of legendary coach Joe Paterno's storied and controversial career.

Alabama was in the infant stages of one of the greatest dynasties of modern college football history while Penn State was winding down the career of its all-time winningest coach. Of course, it was going to be a bloodbath in favor of the Crimson Tide.

Regardless, that didn't stop Saban from getting his shots in at the Nittany Lions and their loyal fans.

That's what makes Saban the G.O.A.T., though.

He remembered a one-off non-conference game from 14 years ago and decided to take a parting shot at a program that has no historical rivalry or connection to his (unless the Big Ten added Alabama and Penn State to its list of rivals in the past few hours).

It will be interesting to see if the whiteout does play a factor in their game against Oregon on Saturday.

It looks like Penn State is a 3.5 point favorite over the Ducks, and I personally think Oregon has the better roster from a recruiting ranking standpoint, so maybe Saban is wrong about the power of a whiteout game.

We will know one way or another around 11 p.m. ET Saturday night, so buckle up, everyone!