Nick Saban names college football's most underrated rivalry

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 earlier this year. | Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

During a segment on ESPN's College GameDay on Saturday morning, former Alabama coach Nick Saban was asked what he thinks is the most underrated rivalry in college football.

He went with Alabama vs. Tennessee, a rivalry that resumes Saturday as the No. 11-ranked Vols (5-1, 2-1 SEC) visit Tuscaloosa and the No. 6 Crimson Tide (5-1, 3-0).

"I actually think that, having been at Alabama, everybody always talks about the Iron Bowl (vs. Auburn), but really, the big game for a lot of our fans and players was the Alabama-Tennessee game that's going to happen tonight," Saban said.

"And it goes way back, and the reason for that was coach Bear Bryant and General [Robert] Neyland were so successful that it was always a good game back in the late '50s and '60s, and it became a big thing. And then the trainer started smoking cigars naked when they won the game in 1961, so that became a tradition to smoke cigars. So I really do think one of the underrated rivalries is the Tennessee-Alabama game because people don't realize how much it means internally."

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The story goes that before that 1961 game, Alabama trainer Jim Goostree, who had previously been an assistant trainer at Tennessee, made a bet with the Crimson Tide players that if they beat the Vols for the first time in six years, he'd dance around the locker room naked.

Alabama won 34-3, and Goostree kept his word, dancing naked in the locker room with a cigar in his mouth.

Saban, of course, was part of many of those battles, and he has every reason to want to spotlight that rivalry as he was 16-1 against Tennessee in his time with the Tide.

Alabama is 60-39-8 all-time vs. Tennessee, but the Vols took the last meeting, 24-17, last season in Knoxville.

The Tide is a 7.5-point favorite at home Saturday night as the teams kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

Alabama has won three straight games over ranked opponents with victories at Georgia, over Vanderbilt and at Missouri.

Tennessee took its lone loss in overtime at home vs. Georgia, and has since won closer-than-expected games over Mississippi State and Arkansas, but the Vols are nonetheless in the thick of the SEC race if they can score an upset -- and light up a cigar -- Saturday night in Tuscaloosa.