Nick Saban reveals tactics behind SEC title game pick

Nick Saban is popping up everywhere on ESPN these days as the legendary Alabama head football coach begins his media career. That means making predictions, and Alabama fans certainly raised their eyebrows last month when, during a broadcast from SEC Media Days in Dallas, he picked Georgia and Texas to face off in the conference championship game.

Asked about his pick Friday on The Pat McAfee Show , Saban acknowledged his prediction may have had some ulterior motives … or “reverse rat poison,” as the coach called it.

“I always hated it, and I’m going to hate it on this show … having to predict and make hypothetical decisions about who’s going to win a game, who’s going to win the championship, who’s going to win what conference,” Saban said. “So I picked Georgia and Texas because it’s reverse rat poison for Alabama. It’s a motivating factor for them not to get picked, because I hated getting picked first or second because you don’t know how that’s going to affect your team psychologically.”

Saban won seven national championships at Alabama. In 2015 and 2020, the Crimson Tide were third in the preseason AP poll and won the championship. Each other title season, they were either first or second in the country preseason, let alone the SEC.

So while Saban largely did not get his way of keeping the preseason hype quiet while at Alabama, the program is coming off three straight 2-loss seasons and integrating Saban’s successor, Kalen DeBoer. Knowing the gravity his words will have on College GameDay and PMS this season, Saban is smart to keep the attention away from his former program.

“These kids are affected a lot by what they read, what they hear, what they see,” Saban said. “So I didn’t want to say anything too good.”

Of course Saban’s words don’t have a direct impact on how the Crimson Tide perform on the field, but he still has personal relationships with many of the players and a lot of the staff at Alabama. The reverse rat poison may not work for him, but it’s probably still the smart move to play it cool with his Alabama ties for now.

There are plenty of conspiracy theories about ESPN talent’s college football allegiances , after all.

[ The Pat McAfee Show on X ]

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