Nick Saban responds after being called out by Vanderbilt

Oct 21, 2023; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban does his traditional walk around at Bryant-Denny Stadium before a game against the Tennessee Volunteers. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY Sports

Nick Saban is not backing off after giving Vanderbilt some motivational material that they very much leaned on during their upset win over Alabama last Saturday.

Back in late September, Saban singled out Vanderbilt as the only SEC school without a significant home field advantage in comments that were widely reported at the time. Those remarks did not take long to resurface after the Commodores stunned Alabama 40-35 last Saturday, dealing the Crimson Tide their first defeat of the season.

Saban probably did not want those comments to become a major source of attention, but he is not backing off them. On Friday’s edition of “The Pat McAfee Show,” he was asked about those remarks, and asserted that Saturday’s game had only proven him right.

Nick Saban also reacted on @PatMcAfeeShow to Vanderbilt playing his comments on its video board after the win: "If you looked at the stadium, half the people *were* Alabama fans." https://t.co/TU6YukA8zQ

— Mike Rodak (@mikerodak) October 11, 2024

“If you looked at the stadium, half the people were Alabama fans,” Saban asserted.

In other words, Saban’s point stands. Alabama may have lost the game, but it certainly was not because of some overwhelming home field advantage. That still didn’t stop Vanderbilt from making the most of Saban’s initial remarks after the game, though.

Alabama will have the chance to recover from their Vanderbilt slip-up with a home game against South Carolina on Saturday.