Nick Saban was forced to relive his unfortunate comments about Vanderbilt again this week.
LSU national champion gymnast Livvy Dunne and her boyfriend, Pittsburgh Pirates star pitcher Paul Skenes, joined the cast of ESPN’s “College GameDay” on Saturday as this week’s celebrity pickers, and it was Dunne that shaded the former Alabama coach for his previous remarks about the school’s football program.
Olivia Dunne of the LSU Tigers looks on before a meet against the Florida Gators at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center on February 23, 2024, in Gainesville, Florida. (James Gilbert/Getty Images)
“The only place you play in the SEC that’s not hard to play is Vanderbilt. Because when you play at Vanderbilt, you have more fans there than they have,” Saban said during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” back in September.
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“And that’s no disrespect to them, it’s the truth.”
Intentions aside, Vanderbilt fans did take offense and Dunne added salt to the wound when she selected the Commodores to beat South Carolina at home.
“Someone once said that Vanderbilt was the easiest place to play in the SEC, but not today. I’m going with Vanderbilt,” Dunne said.
Former Alabama Football Coach and current ESPN analyst Nick Saban on the set of ESPN’s College Game Day, at the University of Texas on the South Mall, ahead of the Longhorns’ game against the Georgia Bulldogs in Austin, Oct. 19, 2024. (IMAGN)
VANDERBILT STUNS TOP-RANKED ALABAMA, SECURING COMMODORES’ FIRST-EVER WIN OVER NO. 1 TEAM
Saban’s comments quickly backfired last month when Vanderbilt upset Alabama, 40-53, for their first victory over the Crimson Tide since 1984.
Fans stormed the field and eventually tore down a goal post and carried it out of the stadium and around town before tossing it into the Cumberland River. But before making their exit, Saban’s comments from September were played on the jumbotron.
Vanderbilt Commodores fans march the goal posts around the field following a game between the Vanderbilt Commodores and Alabama Crimson Tide, October 5, 2024, at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. (Matthew Maxey/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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Vanderbilt is back in the Top 25 after a big road win at Auburn made the Commodores eligible for their first bowl game since the 2018 season, but a win on Saturday would make South Carolina eligible as well.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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