Friday is here, and it is going to be cold. This might feel like a nitpick, but weather conditions matter. Nick Saban has always been vocal about this one. See, a team accustomed to the warm weather going over to play under 20 degrees is bound to make some major mistakes. Nick Saban first brought up this issue back in November. “I had a really tough coach who would blow on our hands when it was cold….. You’re not allowed to blow on your hands,” Saban had said while talking about his baseball days. See, the problem is that handling football has become a very hard task. With those sleeves on as a WR or RB, the football is bound to slip right out.

So what can you do? Well, if you are a Hoosiers fan or an SMU fan, there is pretty much nothing. Back on the Pat McAfee show, Nick Saban again brings up this issue. “How do you feel like the cold’s gonna affect you tomorrow?” Pat McAfee asked. Saban had a simple answer: “I’m concerned.” College GameDay is gonna be held at Library Lawn tomorrow, and from the weather predictions we have seen? It’s gonna be chilly. Back at Penn State, an inch of snow is being predicted, and for Notre Dame where GameDay is happening? While there will be no snowfall, it will still be breezy with wind gusts of up to 32mph.

We do hope Saban has some good jackets in his closet cause he is going to need them. More importantly, let’s hope he wears the right shoes. As Pat pointed out, “Let’s not do super fashionable boot s–t on the feet.” 

Yeah, because the cold starts right from the toes and climbs from there. And this mention did manage to make Saban reminisce about his days of coaching the Cleveland Browns. “When I coached with the Cleveland Browns, that wind used to blow through that stadium… I know another place where that cold can hit you and go right through your soul,” Nick Saban mentioned.

Now, things bring us to the main platter. The Penn State vs SMU game and the Irish vs Hoosiers game. For SMU, the last time these guys played a cold-weather game was back in 2023 against the Knights. They lost 13-17. For Hoosiers? Curt Cignetti and his boys are used to the cold. The final game of the season against Purdue was during snowy conditions, and Indiana still managed to snag 66 points. Coming to Penn State and ND. Well, this will be interesting.

Are Penn State and Notre Dame getting their dream setups?

Let’s talk about Penn State first. If you were James Franklin, you would be laughing with joy right now. Not only are the Lions getting a home game, but they are also getting it against a team that is not accustomed to playing in the cold.

See, you can say that Franklin has a weird allergy to choking against top opponents, but maybe this time, he can get that problem under control. Mustangs shouldn’t be that hard to win against. Yes, the team has some spirit. They did showcase that when they claimed out of their 20-point deficit against Clemson.

However, at the end of the day, their 11-2 run is built on a schedule that is pretty much a cakewalk for any Big 10 team. One thing Penn State has to sort out is the ticket situation. We talked about this last day. Out of all the first-round games, the tickets for the Penn State vs SMU game are going for the lowest.

This ain’t really a good sign, and Franklin and Co. better get started on selling out the stadium. If it’s going to be a whiteout, then it better be a good one. Finally, for Notre Dame, while Marcus Freeman would’ve loved to face against a warm-weather team, they got Hoosiers on their plate.

As we pointed out before, Cignetti knows what the cold can do, so he and his boys are going to be ready. Still, ND stands to be the crowd favorite. The only good game Hoosiers have played all year was against OSU and they lost that.

For ND? After that NIU loss, Freeman and Co. have been on a massive run. With the defense being one of the best in the country, do Cignetti and Co. have a chance? We gonna find out soon enough.