Nick Saban Draws Roaring Ovation as 'College GameDay' Returns to Tuscaloosa

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Nick Saban returned to Tuscaloosa with ESPN’s "College GameDay" for his second show at the Capstone since retiring from coaching in 2024.

Saturday’s show, which precedes a top-10 showdown between Alabama and Georgia, was forced into the dry confines of Coleman Coliseum, and the program’s former coach took center stage.

The show started with Pat McAfee showing his appreciation for the fans who braved the elements to make it to the show.

“Thank you for showing up. Thank you for showing up for Coach Saban. And thank you for showing up for football,” he said.

Saban’s introduction was met with a Coleman Coliseum crowd pop only rivaled by Nate Oats’ boys from behind the arc.

“It’s too much, Rece. Great fans, great support,” Saban said once he could finally be heard over the crowd.

The love for the school’s longtime coach continued when GameDay brought in meteorologist James Spann to virtually discuss the weather conditions in Tuscaloosa.

“He knows how to use weather information better than any other college football coach in the country,” Spann said.

Spann wasn’t the only weatherman who interacted with Saban Saturday morning. The Weather Channel’s Jim Cantore had a segment on the show and had his rooting interests addressed by Saban directly.

“You are a homer for Alabama,” Saban said. “You are a homer for Alabama. Roll Tide sir.”

Saban’s successor, Kalen DeBoer, later spent some time on the set previewing Saturday’s game, and Saban appeared to get emotional talking about the job DeBoer’s done in his two-and-a-half years so far in Tuscaloosa.

“He has done a great job, this is his team,” Saban said as he put his hand on DeBoer’s shoulder.

While he did commend DeBoer, Saban named a different team as the best in the country at the moment. Kirk Herbstreit was asked who he thought the best team in America was, and he answered with the Miami Hurricanes, and Saban agreed unprompted.

The show’s host, Rece Davis, asked Saban how he’d prepare his team for a game with stakes like Alabama-Georgia, and he responded in pure Saban fashion.

“Well, the big thing that I always tried to do is get the players to lock onto the right things and lock out the wrong things,” he said. “Lock onto the technical execution of what you have to do to go do your job, one play at a time for 60 minutes in a game, and lock out all the external factors like outcomes, who’s gonna win, creating anxiety for how you perform, which is not good for good performance.”

After the segment ended, Saban turned to the crowd and shouted, “I can tell you one thing: we are going to lock onto the right stuff tonight. Get it up.”

The show ended with a ‘Saturday Selections’ classic. Fresh off picking Alabama to win Saturday night, Saban playfully sucker-punched McAfee for picking Georgia. Guest picker Bryce Young, who also picked the Tide, finished the job by throwing McAfee to the ground WWE-style.

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