Nick Saban recently celebrated his 73rd birthday. The legendary coach-turned-analyst is in University Park, PA with the rest of the College GameDay crew in Week 10 for the Penn State-Ohio State matchup.
While discussing the weekend’s games, Saban was joined on stage by the Nittany Lion. The legendary mascot brought Saban a birthday gift, which was revealed to be a Nittany Lion Snugible.
The Nittany Lion brought Nick Saban a gift for his birthday pic.twitter.com/OPXOMkDZOm
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) November 2, 2024
The mascot then instructed Saban to put the costume on, which Saban obliged. The fans in Happy Valley loved it, and sang “Happy Birthday” to Saban, being led by Pat McAfee.
Saban kept the costume on over his suit. At one point, McAfee instructed the coach to say “We are,” which the crowd also loved.
Saban is in his 1st year as an analyst on College GameDay. The legendary coach retired from coaching after leading the Alabama Crimson Tide back to the College Football Playoff in 2023. Saban ends his coaching career as one of the most accomplished coaches of all time and has been a seamless addition to the GameDay crew.
The Nittany Lions can use all the support they can get in Week 10. The nation’s No. 3 team is playing host to the No. 4 Buckeyes in what could be one of the best games of the year.
Entering this matchup, the Nittany Lions are undefeated while the Buckeyes’ lone blemish is a loss to current No. 1 Oregon. These B1G rivals are no strangers to each other, and the Buckeyes have won 9 of the last 10.