Former Auburn football player Daren Bates goes in on Penn State football

It’s Penn State hate week, and that extends far beyond current Auburn football players. While the interactions between Nittany Lions and Tiger fans on Twitter have been heating up as the highly-anticipated week three matchup approaches, one former Auburn player decided to go in on Penn State.

Daren Bates was an Auburn football linebacker from 2009-2012 and played on the 2010 National Championship team. Over his four-year career on the Plains, Bates racked up 316 total tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, five sacks, three interceptions, and 12 passes deflected.

Once an Auburn man, always an Auburn man, so it’s not surprising that current free agent Daren Bates would insert himself into the Nittany Lions-Tigers conversation. On both Twitter and his podcast/show Raw Room, Bates got fired up about Auburn’s upcoming opponent:

For the record, as far as I can tell the mascot doesn’t actually have a name. It’s a Nittany Lion, named for the local Mount Nittany close to campus, but doesn’t have a name like Aubie the Tiger or Arkansas’ Big Red or Florida’s Albert the Gator. Not every team’s mascot can win multiple national championships in his career.

As the intensity between the Penn State and Auburn football fan bases rises, the anticipation for Saturday’s matchup builds. Kickoff cannot get here fast enough!