Nick Saban reveals surprising comments regarding coaching against SEC rivals, Auburn and Tennessee

ESPN’s College GameDay has been the most viewed college football pregame show for decades now. And recent addition’s Nick Saban and Pat McAfee have added a different type of flair to the show that seemed to be fizzling out over the past few years.

With one of the original analysts, Lee Corso missing episodes and not as much a part as he used to be, the insertion of these two as analysts has been a welcomed addition for many. Surprises now seem to happen on a weekly basis whether it be theatrics or verbal content on the show. And this past week was no different as former Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban took to the microphone sharing some eye-opening inside perspective regarding tradition Alabama’s traditional rivals, the Auburn Tigers and Tennessee Volunteers.

What did Nick Saban say about Auburn and Tennessee?

Although Auburn is Alabama’s in-state rival, Auburn may be the Tide’s most hated and natural rival being in-state, Saban shared perspective that as head coach it was actually more challenging to motivate his players for their matchup against Auburn instead of Tennessee.

“For our players, this was a bigger rivalry than any other game we played," Saban said. Even bigger than Auburn to our players. It was always difficult for me to get our players up for the Auburn game, it was never difficult for Tennessee.”

Watching GameDay, you could tell that the rest of the crew was surprised by this statement, as was I and I am sure the majority of college football fans.

From the “kick six” to the “Cam Back,” there have been some great moments in Iron Bowl history between Alabama and Auburn. Alabama leads the series 50-37-1 for a win percentage of 56.9%. Saban’s record against the Tigers himself was 12-5, which was not nearly as good as the one against the Volunteers which was 16-1. The Tide’s overall record against the Volunteers is 59-40-7.

On the surface, one may think that between the record being closer against the Tigers and the fact that they are in-state rivals of the Tide, it would be easier to motivate. The counter however may have been true as Saban said the whole time, hence the reason they were able to beat the Vols as frequently as they did.