ESPN College GameDay Crew Makes Picks for Alabama vs. Vanderbilt

Did Nick Saban pick the Crimson Tide to take down the Commodores during Saturday's pregame show in Tuscaloosa?

Oct. 4, 2025; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Former Alabama coach Nick Saban smiles as he is on set during ESPN’s College GameDay on location on the Quad at the University of Alabama before the Alabama versus Vanderbilt game. | Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

ESPN's College GameDay chose Tuscaloosa to host this week's pregame show as No. 10 Alabama is facing No. 16 Vanderbilt in Bryant-Denny Stadium at 2:30 p.m. CT on ABC.

The renowned college football program came to Tuscaloosa for multiple reasons, one of which being that Alabama is looking for revenge after last year's historic upset in Nashville. Another reason is that this is the first ranked matchup between these two teams since 1937.

The analysts on College GameDay close the three-hour morning show by making their picks for who wins several of the day's best matchups. Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban is one of the analysts, alongside Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee, Kirk Herbstreit and host Rece Davis (who doesn't make a pick). They are also joined by a celebrity guest each week, with Saturday's being comedian Theo Von.

So, which panelists picked Alabama over Vanderbilt, and how many chose the Commodores over the Crimson Tide?

• Desmond Howard: Alabama
• Nick Saban: Alabama
• Pat McAfee: Alabama
• Theo Von: Vanderbilt
• Kirk Herbstreit: Alabama

It's clear that the GameDay crew likes head coach Kalen DeBoer and the Crimson Tide in this one.

A bit after his retirement on Jan. 10, 2024, Saban, who won six National Championships at Alabama, joined ESPN's College GameDay as an analyst.

The program, which first aired in 1987, has had a plethora of new faces serve as panelists over the years, and last season's addition in Saban truly made a massive impression on the rest of the group and viewers of the show as well.

“I think a lot of people can relate to this, when you leave a profession where you worked for 50 years and go do something else. And then having the opportunity to be part of GameDay and look at the game from 1,000 feet and work with you guys, who have helped me tremendously," Saban said on Jan. 1, 2025.

Fans are seeing a different side of Saban at the desk as he tells jokes and shares his laughter with millions, while also giving thorough analysis for a variety of teams and positions that got the college football world excited to see him on the screen whenever he opened his mouth.

"He's been phenomenal," Davis said in October 2024. "The quickness with which he has adapted to television. He's one of the most gifted communicators I've ever been around. He can explain things and grab your attention in psychological football or he's telling you about his business ventures. He can communicate. Everybody knows this and it's why everyone in the world wants him to come and speak."