Nick Saban: Georgia, Texas SEC Title Game Pick Was ‘Reverse Rat Poison’ for Alabama

Andrew PetersAugust 23, 2024

John Cordes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Nick Saban isn’t feeding his former team any rat poison.

The former Alabama head coach recently picked Georgia and Texas to play in the SEC title game, and he explained his decision on The Pat McAfee Show on Friday.

“It’s kind of reverse rat poison. I always hated it, and I’m going to hate it on this show, I might as well say it, on this show or any show or (College) GameDay,” Saban said (3:53 mark). “Having to predict and make hypothetical decisions about who’s going to win a game, who’s going to win a championship, who’s going to win what conference. I’ve always hated that. 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 to get picked first or second because you don’t know how that’s going to impact your team psychologically.”Saban, who retired following the end of the 2023 season, constantly preached about not taking the “rat poison” that was preseason hype around his Alabama teams. The legendary coach believed that if his team listened too much to what people were saying about his team, they could let it go to their heads and not perform to the best of their abilities.

That mindset of ignoring the outside noise worked well for Saban and the Crimson Tide, as Alabama won six national championships during his tenure.

Now that he’s not on the sideline, Saban is hoping his players will remember his message to avoid the “rat poison” and focus on winning games.

Alabama will begin its first season without Saban on the sideline since 2006 when it takes on Western Kentucky on Aug. 31.