Nick Saban isn’t used to watching the College Football Playoff from home, but this season his Alabama Crimson Tide were passed over by the selection committee following a two-loss season. With SEC foe Georgia facing TCU in the national championship game on Monday, Saban joined ESPN’s set as an analyst to discuss the game. He probably had no idea he was going to be on the receiving end of a subtle but vicious jab on set.
Nick Saban looked like he wanted to vomit as ESPN talked about Georgia’s dynasty
David Pollack went straight for Nick Saban’s heart.
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
Georgia routed TCU 65-7 in the biggest blowout ever in a college football bowl game (let alone the national championship game). As the Bulldogs raced out to a huge halftime lead, Pollack — a standout defensive linemen for the Dawgs who became an NFL first round pick in 2005 — used the opportunity to hit Saban where it hurts. Sitting next to Saban on set, Pollack said: “Georgia, obviously we’ve seen in the past couple seasons now, they’ve taken hold of college football.”
Watch the video here:
Did Pollack really have to glare directly into Saban’s soul when he said that line? He knew exactly what he was doing.
Of course there were edits making fun of Saban. Here’s my personal favorite.
College football fans watching a boring blowout really just wanted to know what Saban was thinking:
Alabama is going to lose a ton of talent over the offseason — including the NFL Draft’s top defensive player in Will Anderson and top quarterback in Bryce Young — but the Tide will surely be loaded once again. Saban has some extra motivation to be out for vengeance next season.
Still, Pollack wasn’t wrong. Georgia just went back-to-back and has a great shot to win a three-peat next year even without QB Stetson Bennett IV, who is graduating (into a nursing home). Saban used to run college football, but now Kirby Smart and UGA do. No one will be surprised if these two conference rivals meet again in the SEC Championship Game next season.
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