Former Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban has become a fan favorite in his role as an analyst on ESPN's "College GameDay" after retiring from his previous job. Saban has attributed his less restrained manner to the influence of co-analyst Pat McAfee.
Saban has gotten to interact with several guest pickers over the season. During Week 11's marquee game, pitting the LSU Tigers against the Crimson Tide, he met MLB prospect Paul Skenes and his girlfriend, LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne.
When the College GameDay crew was making their picks, everyone went with coach Brian Kelly's team to win the night game in Death Valley. Especially since it was a place where the Tigers had not lost a night game (13-0) during Kelly's tenure.
Nick Saban was the only man to pick coach Kalen DeBoer's team to win and Dunne roasted him about his choices. She noted an earlier statement that he had made about the ease of playing against the Vanderbilt Commodores before the Crimson Tide lost to them in Week 6 action.
"Someone once said that Vanderbilt was the easiest place to play in the SEC, but not today," Dunne said. "I’m going with Vanderbilt."
Alabama went on to thoroughly dominate LSU, beating the Tigers 42-13 on the back of a stellar performance by quarterback Jalen Milroe. It led to their fans leaving the stadium before the game was over.
Saban's daughter, Kristen Saban, got back at Paul Skenes and Olivia Dunne with an Instagram post on Monday. It featured a graphic of a smiling Nick Saban after picking Alabama to win over the rest of the College GameDay crew and guest pickers.
Kristen tagged her Instagram stories and posted this message:
"Duh."
Nick Saban gets majority of Week 11 picks wrong
Nick Saban got the big one right but he did not fare well in his other picks. He picked the Vanderbilt Commodores to beat the South Carolina Gamecocks (they lost (28-7). He also picked the Georgia Bulldogs to win in Oxford but Kirby Smart's team was beaten 28-10 by coach Lane Kiffin's Ole Miss Rebels.
Saban also picked the Miami Hurricanes to beat the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, but their unbeaten record fell after a narrow 28-23 loss.
"I think Miami's offense is a bad (matchup) for Georgia Tech's defense," Nick Saban said.
He got some right also, backing the Colorado Buffaloes to beat the Texas Tech Red Raiders (the Buffs won 41-27) and the Clemson Tigers to beat the Virginia Tech Hokies (the Tigers won 24-14).
Despite a majority of his picks going awry, Nick Saban showed where his loyalties lie in the battle of his former programs when he picked the Alabama Crimson Tide.
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