Nick Saban Jan 10, 2022; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban reacts against the Georgia Bulldogs in the 2022 CFP college football national championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
NCAABy Sean Keeley on

One of the side effects of his long-term success is that Nick Saban often has to face off against one of his former Alabama assistants who is now a head coach elsewhere. That’ll be the case this weekend when the Crimson Tide takes on Steve Sarkisian’s Texas Longhorns.

After his brief stint as the head coach of the USC Trojans ended, Sarkisian came to Alabama to work as an analyst. He was quickly promoted to offensive coordinator before leaving to take an NFL job. He would return to Alabama a few years later to work under Saban once more before taking the head gig with Texas.

Now, he’ll go head to head against Saban for the first time and the track record for former assistants isn’t great. Saban holds a 25-2 record against his former assistants, though it’s worth noting both losses came last season when Jimbo Fisher’s Aggies upset No. 1 Alabama and then Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs beat them to win the national title (UPDATED).

Saban was asked Monday about the matchup against Sark and he shared a quote that was quintessentially Nick Saban and also somewhat frightening because of that.

“We’ve played several teams who know us,” said Saban. “But you act like we don’t know them.”

The cold, blunt take from the Alabama coach has a lot of college football folks worried about Texas’s chances on Saturday.

[Clint Lamb]

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Editorial Strategy Director for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.

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