Former Alabama coach Nick Saban is known as one of the best motivators in college football history. But according to former Crimson Tide running back Damien Harris, there was one SEC game where Saban let the opponent provide all the motivation that would be needed.
In 2017, Vanderbilt opened the season 3-0, including a victory over Kansas State in Week 3. After the win over the Wildcats, a Vanderbilt player said that the Commodores would be ready for Alabama the following week.
“It don’t matter where you’re from, you’re going to know what ball we play,” the player said on the broadcast after the game. “Alabama, you’re next.”
Nick Saban got a hold of the clip and made sure his players saw it.
“I remember when home boy from Vanderbilt, right before they played us, they beat Kansas State. And he got on talking about ‘Alabama you’re next,'” Damien Harris recently recalled. “And I kid you not, the first meeting we had, coach Saban just played that, and then we left. Didn’t say a word, we just went out to practice.”
Saban also remained quiet during pregame, knowing that his team was plenty motivated to go take care of Vanderbilt.
The silent treatment worked out just fine as Alabama pounded the Commodores 59-0. Damien Harris had 12 carries for 151 yards and three touchdowns in the game. The Crimson Tide had 38 first downs, compared to 3 for Vanderbilt, and Alabama outgained Vandy 677-78.
“This is the only game ever that coach Saban never said a word before the game. And I swear, you could hear a pin drop in that locker room,” Damien Harris said. “Like nobody said a word. And it wasn’t even like everybody had these pissed off expressions on their face like rabid dogs. Everybody was looking around at each other like, ‘OK, y’all know what we’ve gotta go do. Alright, bet.’
“Coach Saban was like, ‘Y’all ready to go?’ Everybody was like, ‘Yep.’ We said our prayer and we went out and kicked the lining out of their ass.”
Alabama went on to win the national title that season. The Crimson Tide pounded Ole Miss 66-3 the following week and were 11-0 heading into the regular season finale against Auburn.
Saban’s club did drop that game, but they bounced back to beat Clemson and Georgia in the College Football Playoff to win the national title.
In total, Nick Saban won seven national championships, with six of those coming at Alabama. He retired in January, ending a legendary run.
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