Nick Saban Has High Praise for Oregon's Autzen Stadium

Seven-time college football national champion Nick Saban gave kudos to the Autzen Stadium environment during The Pat McAfee Show on Friday morning, citing the venue as a difficult place to play.

"We played here when I was at Michigan State, and obviously I came here a few times to work out players when I was in the NFL," Saban said. "This is a hard place to play. Hard place to play."

Saban and the Spartans were dominated by Oregon 48-14 in Autzen Stadium back in 1998.

In terms of what makes the venue difficult to play in, the legendary head coach cites a combination of factors.

"Is it the travel, is it the fans, or is it all of it?" McAfee asked.

"All of it," Saban said. "It's way out (here), and this is a tough environment in this stadium to play in. It was really difficult."

Since Saban and the Spartans visited Eugene 26 years ago, the Ducks have gone an astounding 146-24 at home, making Autzen Stadium one of the most difficult places to play on paper during that time frame.

Additionally, Oregon's venue holds the fourth-loudest recording of any college sports venue at just over 127 decibels. If the Buckeyes hope to win on Saturday, they'll need to be effectively tuning out "The Autzen Zoo."

The Ducks will face of against Ohio State tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. PST. The game will air on NBC.