Nick Saban Mentioned His Struggles vs. Purdue on College GameDay — Here's Why
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Nick Saban is still having nightmares about playing Purdue. Well, maybe that's not entirely true, but the seven-time national champion did mention the Boilermakers on Saturday morning's edition of College GameDay, saying that Joe Tiller's teams were his "nemesis" during his time at Michigan State.
The College GameDay crew was discussing Saturday's SEC matchup between No. 20 Ole Miss and Kentucky. Last year, the Wildcats defeated the Rebels 20-17, essentially costing Lane Kiffin's team a spot in the College Football Playoff.
When talking about the game, Saban referred to Kentucky as Ole Miss's "nemesis." That's when he mentioned his struggles against Purdue in the 1990s, when he was the head coach in East Lansing.
"When I was at Michigan State, Purdue was our nemesis," Saban said. "I mean, we were a good team, and Purdue beat us. We couldn't ever beat them, and that gets in your head."
Saban's struggles against Purdue were primarily against teams coached by Tiller. He was 0-3 against Tiller-coached teams from 1997-99. He finished his five-year run at Michigan State with a 1-1-3 record against the Boilermakers.
As much as Saban struggled against Purdue, his career turned out pretty well. He won seven national championships, six at Alabama and one at LSU. He's considered by many to be the greatest coach of all-time at the college level.
When it came to beating Tiller's Boilers, though, Saban didn't have any answers.
Nick Saban's record vs. Purdue
Saban was the head coach at Michigan State from 1995-99, finishing with a 34-24-1 record across those five years. He also had a 23-16-1 record in Big Ten games.
In those five seasons, Saban's teams played against two Purdue head coaches, Jim Colletto (1995-96) and Tiller (1997-99). Here are the results from each of those five meetings:
- Sept. 23, 1995 — Purdue ties Michigan State 35-35
- Aug. 31, 1996 — Michigan State defeats Purdue 52-14
- Nov. 8, 1997 — Purdue defeats Michigan State 22-21
- Nov. 14, 1998 — Purdue defeats Michigan State 25-24
- Oct. 16, 1999 — Purdue defeats Michigan State 52-28
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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