Longhorns Country

Steve Sarkisian, Nick Saban Break Down Film on College GameDay

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian reunited with Nick Saban on ESPN's College GameDay.
Zach Dimmitt|
Sep 10, 2022; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian talks with Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban before the game at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images
Sep 10, 2022; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian talks with Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban before the game at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

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Texas Longhorns

AUSTIN -- Steve Sarkisian reunited with his longtime mentor and legendary former Alabama head coach Nick Saban in Austin on Saturday during ESPN's "College GameDay" ahead of the matchup between the No. 1 Texas Longhorns and No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs.

Sarkisian made an appearance early in the show to meet with the GameDay crew but things took an interesting turn once the guys started breaking down Texas film. Sarkisian provided some insight on his offensive thought process while Saban chimed in with how a defense might respond. The two then shared a funny moment when the last clip of film was Xavier Worthy's touchdown catch against Saban's Alabama defense last season.

Take a look at the clip, per NashTalksTexas:

Near the end of the show when the GameDay crew was making their picks, Saban couldn't choose between his two former assistants in Sarkisian and Kirby Smart. He instead let a coin flip make his prediction for him, and Texas ended up being the choice.

In the days leading up to the game, Sarkisian said that the success Georgia and Texas have had is because of the influence of Saban on both himself and Smart.

"I think a lot of the stuff is Kirby and I's backgrounds with Coach Saban," Sarkisian said. "And if you're at Alabama, whether it's for a short time or a long time, there's a lot of lessons to be learned. I think we both probably took some some pretty good notes of trying to build a build a program and an organization that could be sustainable, and not just one year, have a really good year and then be down for a couple, but be sustainable to where you're competitive and you're competing for championships year in and year out."

No. 1 Texas and No. 5 Georgia will kick off from Austin on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CT.

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Zach Dimmitt
ZACH DIMMITT

Zach Dimmitt is the Deputy Editor for Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI. He also contributes as a writer for the On SI channels of the Oregon Ducks, Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans. He was previously the editor-in-chief of Buffalo Bills on SI, Philadelphia Eagles on SI and Seattle Seahawks on SI. Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Dimmitt received his Bachelor’s Degree in journalism at the University of Texas at Austin in 2022. He originally started with SI’s Fan Nation network in 2021, providing extensive coverage of the NFL and NBA along with college football and basketball. In that time, Dimmitt has published thousands of stories and has reached millions of people across multiple fan bases. You can follow him on X at @ZachDimmitt7

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