Nick Saban Jokes About Dan Lanning’s Bulletin Board Material Before Iowa Game

The No. 9 Oregon Ducks are on the road against the No. 20 Iowa Hawkeyes, and the Big Ten matchup has become quite the intriguing one with many picking Iowa to pull off the upset. On ESPN's College GameDay, Kirk Herbstreit and Nick Saban agreed about the Hawkeyes' style of play being a potential mismatch against Oregon, but the two analysts disagreed on who wins the game.

Herbstreit picked Iowa to win earlier in the week, and he is seemingly sticking with his upset prediction. On the other hand, Saban believes that the Ducks will be able to escape with a win. While previewing the game, Pat McAfee revealed that Oregon coach Dan Lanning showed his team the clip of Herbstreit picking Iowa on "The Pat McAfee Show."

"The one thing you guys don't understand is you say he (Lanning) played that Thursday? It played over and over and over all day Thursday, all day Friday. It's playing on the bus going to the game," Saban said.

Nick Saban ESPN's College GameDay Oregon Ducks Iowa Hawkeyes upset pick Dan Lanning Kirk Herbstreit Pat McAfee Dante Moore — Oct 25, 2025; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning encourages players during warm ups before a game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Autzen Stadium. The Ducks are wearing uniforms celebrating the Grateful Dead. | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

Nick Saban, Kirk Herbstreit Preview Oregon vs. Iowa

Still, the legendary college football coach highlighted some of the issues that the Ducks might have when it comes to beating the Hawkeyes.

"Well, Oregon struggles come when they can’t run the football and they can't win on the line of scrimmage. And that's the one thing that Iowa is very good at. You know, they're gonna run the ball, they're gonna shrink the game, they're gonna play good defense, they're gonna play well out up front, they're gonna stop the run. So this is exactly the kind of matchup you really don't wanna be into if you're Oregon," Saban said.

When pushed to give his pick for the game, he still chose the Ducks despite pointing out some of their weaknesses.

"I think Oregon will overcome because of their skill guys," Saban said.

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Meanwhile, Herbstreit explained more of the reasoning behind his Iowa pick on College GameDay, believing in the Hawkeyes' ability to knock off a top team.

"I think we've all been trained that Iowa in November, they always get somebody. and this is gonna be the somebody. It's gonna be Oregon," Herbstreit said. "And forget just the history of Iowa winning. Oregon can't run the football the way you would expect them to run the football, and they can't stop the run the way you'd expect them to run the football against better teams."

"We saw that against Indiana, it was 2.7 yards per carry, so I don't know. I think Iowa is in a great spot. They're still in the hunt to maybe be an at-large team to get into the playoff. I think Iowa at home wins this game," Herbstreit continued.

As noted by Herbstreit, Oregon averaged 2.7 yards per carry against Indiana. In the rainy game against Wisconsin, the Ducks averaged 4.5 yards per carry. Will that be the key for Oregon vs. Iowa? Saturday's forecast is expected to be rainy and windy, potentially favoring the Hawkeyes' upset chances.

Oregon and Iowa will kickoff at 12:30 p.m. PT on CBS.