David Pollack reacts to College GameDay going to Vanderbilt at Alabama with joke about his ESPN firing

For the 21st time in the history of the show, ESPN‘s College GameDay will travel to Tuscaloosa for an Alabama football home game. Usually, GameDay would travel to Alabama for a Crimson Tide clash against the likes of Georgia, LSU or Florida. But this year, GameDay rolls into town for a monstrous matchup against No. 16 Vanderbilt.

For the first time since the 2008 season, the Commodores have opened the season with a 5-0 record thanks to wins over Charleston Southern, Virginia Tech, No. 11 South Carolina, Georgia State and Utah State. This weekend’s clash in Title Town marks a rematch from last season, where the ‘Dores knocked off then No. 1 ranked Alabama 40-35 in one of the biggest upsets in recent history.

During the latest edition of David Pollack‘s ‘See Ball Get Ball with David Pollack‘ podcast, he (along with slipping in a joke about his firing) pretty much said that he could not have foreseen this scenario occurring just three years ago. Vanderbilt, which failed to win six games in a season in eight of 10 seasons since 2014 prior to last year, could hit that mark with a landmark victory on Saturday.

Pollack claims that Vanderbilt plays like ‘the old style of Alabama’

“I would’ve said there’s as good a chance that that would happen as I’d get fired… oh wait,” Pollack said with a laugh. “Both have happened since then. That is crazy to think about Vandy and where they’re at. These are two pretty different styles of football too. Vanderbilt‘s like the old style of Alabama. Vanderbilt’s like the physical/maul you team, and Alabama is like the spread it out/throw it all over the yard with run game optional.”

The success that head coach Clark Lea is leading Vanderbilt to is unprecedented. This weekend will mark the first College GameDay show that involves the Commodores since Oct. 4, 2008 (vs. Auburn). With a second consecutive win over the Tide, Vanderbilt would start the season 6-0 for the first time since 1928.

This weekend’s game also marks a major opportunity for No. 10 Alabama to continue to show that its season opening loss to Florida State was a fluke. Since that loss, the Crimson Tide have rolled Louisiana-Monroe and Wisconsin and upset No. 5 Georgia 24-21 Saturday night, ending the Bulldogs’ 33-game home winning streak.

Kick-off between No. 10 Alabama and No. 16 Vanderbilt this weekend is scheduled for 3:30 PM ET. The game can be seen on ABC.