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Nick Saban proclaims he is jumping on the Vanderbilt bandwagon

Barkley-Truaxby: Barkley Truax3 hours agoBarkleyTruax
Nick Saban
Adam Cairns | Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Coach Saban is jumping on the Vanderbilt bandwagon, the longtime Alabama head coach and Vanderbilt critic proclaimed to begin ESPN’s College GameDay ahead of Week 9. Nick Saban is now all-in on the Commodores.

The Commodores have come a long way since Nick Saban joined the Pat McAfee Show and said that Vanderbilt the only place in the SEC that isn’t difficult to play. They’re currently ranked No. 10 in the country and are playing host to Saban and the ESPN College GameDay crew on Saturday.

The crowd on campus at Vanderbilt went crazy for Saban’s proclamation. From booing his every work, to cheering him relentlessly — Saban appears back in the good graces of Vanderbilt fans ahead of Saturday’s blockbuster matchup against No. 15 Missouri.

Saban joined the Pat McAfee Show on Friday before Week 9 where he further explained his viewpoint on Vanderbilt’s turnaround. He credited the current culture of college football with NIL and the transfer portal that allows schools that, at one time, didn’t get a chance to compete with major programs like Alabama or LSU. Now, Vanderbilt has wins over both of those programs in the last two years.

“This is a great academic institution,” Saban told McAfee. “But the window that people look at this institution is really going to be a lot through the athletic program, and there’s no way that they can get more exposure than having GameDay here and playing in a big game, like they did last week against LSU and they’re going to do this week against Missouri.”

Saban said that, compared to the last time he coached on the road at Vanderbilt in 2017, Vanderbilt has added new facilities, arenas and stadiums. That has helped lure higher profile talent to Nashville and in turn, they’re among the top teams in the SEC through eight weeks of the 2025 college football season.

Vanderbilt is currently 6-1 for the first time since 1950 and are ranked No. 10 in the country. Their sixth win of the season came last week against a then-top 10 LSU team at home, 31-24. Now, the Commodores are now bowl eligible in consecutive seasons for the first time in over a decade (2012-2013 under James Franklin).

They’ve proved their doubters like Saban wrong time and time again. Now, they’re winning over even their most harsh of critics.

Kickoff between the Commodores and Tigers is set for 3:30 p.m. ET. ESPN will carry the national broadcast.