Nick Saban names the ‘most humiliating’ loss of his college football career

Nick Saban recalled Alabama’s 2007 loss to Louisiana-Monroe as his most humiliating defeat.

Former Alabama coach Nick Saban revisited the most humiliating loss of his college football coaching career on Saturday. | Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Nick Saban spent nearly two decades building the Alabama Crimson Tide into a dynasty, but even the most accomplished coaches have their low points. During ESPN’s College GameDay broadcast on Saturday, the seven-time national champion reflected on the game he still considers the most embarrassing of his career: a 2007 loss to Louisiana-Monroe during his first season in Tuscaloosa.

“First year at Alabama, we lost to ULM,” Saban said. “Remember that? Remember that was a Thursday. Alabama beat them 73-0 this year. We lost to them on a Thursday, the most humiliating game loss of my whole career.”

That defeat came early in Saban’s Alabama tenure, when the Crimson Tide were still recovering from NCAA sanctions and rebuilding their roster. The loss to Louisiana-Monroe was a reminder of how far the program had fallen before Saban’s arrival and how far it still had to go before reclaiming national prominence. Less than two years later, Alabama began its climb toward becoming the sport’s most dominant program of the modern era.

Alabama’s 73–0 Win Over Louisiana-Monroe Serves as a Full-Circle Moment

Seventeen years after that stunning 2007 loss, Alabama delivered the type of response that Saban once dreamed of establishing as the program’s standard.

Quarterback Ty Simpson completed a school-record 17 consecutive passes, throwing for 226 yards and three touchdowns in a 73–0 rout of Louisiana-Monroe.

Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer has the Crimson Tide out to a 4-1 start to the 2025 college football season heading into Saturday's game against Missouri. | David Leong-Imagn Images

The Crimson Tide scored on all 11 of their possessions, tallying 10 touchdowns and a field goal, while holding their opponent to 148 total yards. Alabama rebounded from a season-opening loss at Florida State, showing a renewed focus under head coach Kalen DeBoer.

Even without top receiver Ryan Williams, who missed the game due to concussion protocol, Alabama’s passing attack flourished. Backup quarterbacks Austin Mack and Keelon Russell each added two touchdown passes, while the defense forced three turnovers to finish plus-3 in turnover margin.

Revisiting Nick Saban’s Rocky First Season at Alabama

Saban’s 2007 debut season was far from the dominance that later defined his tenure. The Crimson Tide finished with a 7–6 record that year, including a four-game losing streak to close the regular season and a sixth straight loss to rival Auburn. Though Alabama won the Independence Bowl over Colorado, NCAA sanctions later forced the program to vacate five victories due to textbook distribution violations involving multiple student-athletes.

At the time, Alabama’s issues extended beyond the field. The program was rebuilding its culture, discipline, and identity. Those were the areas that Saban would eventually transform. That year’s 21–14 loss to Louisiana-Monroe symbolized the depths from which he rebuilt the Crimson Tide.

Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban built the Crimson Tide up into a dynasty during his 17-year tenure with the program. | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Now, under DeBoer, Alabama’s performance against Louisiana-Monroe reflected a program still carrying the standard Saban established: relentless, precise, and demanding.

Alabama, ranked No. 8, is on the road to face No. 14 Missouri at noon ET on ABC.