Nick Saban breaks down West Virginia vs. Penn State Week 1 showdown

The Penn State vs. West Virginia rivalry will renew on Saturday as the Mountaineers host James Franklin’s club in Morgantown. West Virginia fans are fired up for the matchup and showed up and showed out as former WVU player Pat McAfee hosted his show in Morgantown on Friday.

McAfee had West Virginia native and ESPN analyst Nick Saban on to preview the matchup and discuss a number of topics. Saban believes the Mountaineers are capable of pulling off the upset.

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“Well, I think West Virginia’s proven that they can run the ball effectively against just about anybody they play. I think that’s going to be the challenge for them against Penn State,” Nick Saban said. “Penn State’s a pretty good defensive team and they like to pressure a lot and create negative plays. So I think if the quarterback for West Virginia can create a little balance in the game for them, throw the ball effectively, that’ll have a huge impact on the game.”

Garrett Greene is the West Virginia starting quarterback and he’s getting a little Heisman buzz after accounting for more than 3,100 total yards and scoring 29 total touchdowns in 12 games a year ago.

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The dual-sport star could give Penn State some issues, as could the WVU crowd.

Saban discussed how the energy and noise in Morgantown could give Penn State some trouble.

“There’s a buzzsaw in Morgantown. That’s a hard place to play,” Saban said. “The fans there have great passion. It’s going to make it very difficult for Penn State, especially in the opener, to manage the noise, to manage the game, to be able to stay focused on execution and not get sidetracked by any of the other things that are going on, because it’s going to be difficult for them.”

Saban added that the fact that the game is the opener for Penn State will make it even more difficult.

Penn State does have a veteran at quarterback in junior Drew Allar, but there are some young players on the Nittany Lions roster who will have to step up in a tough environment.

“You’re always worried as a coach in your first game about how your team’s going to execute,” Saban said. “And that’s going to be really, really the challenge for them, playing on the road, at West Virginia, in the first game.”