Nick Saban Previews Notre Dame vs. Indiana Showdown on Pat McAfee Show

The greatest college football coach of the modern era shared his keys for the Notre Dame vs. Indiana showdown

Nick Saban speaks before helping unveil the newest rendering of the Saban Center during the Nick’s Kids Foundation Teacher Appreciation luncheon at Tuscaloosa River Market Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. / Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Nick Saban knows a thing or two about getting ready for a big game and Notre Dame is certainly doing that with Indiana coming to town for the College Football Playoff on Friday night.

Saban will of course be a part of ESPN's College GameDay coverage as the program airs for the four hours leading up to kickoff Friday night, but on Thursday he joined the Pat McAfee Show to discuss the matchup. In it he sees one thing in particular deciding the outcome for both Notre Dame and Indiana.

Nick Saban on Most Key Matchup for Indiana vs. Notre Dame

Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts (0) celebrates picking up a Virginia fumble during a NCAA college football game at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in South Bend. / MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"Notre Dame's defense pressures 46% of the time," said Saban, "They want to try and create a lot of negative plays and positive third down and distance situations for their defense where they can take advantage of pressuring you on third down."

"If Indiana can't handle that then that's going to be a problem," added Saban, "But when people have handled it like USC did, Notre Dame struggled a little bit on defense and had to count on turnovers in order to be able to survive."

"I think Indiana is probably better than most people think and I think that they got a really great opportunity if they can handle the pressure on offense and keep the ball away from Notre Dame who can run it probably better than they can throw it."

Nick Saban on Pat McAfee Show

You can see Saban's entire visit to the Pat McAfee Show on Thursday below.

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