Former Alabama football coach Nick Saban made his predictions for Saturday’s conference championship games in the SEC, Big Ten, ACC and Big 12 on “College GameDay” Saturday.
Saban and the GameDay crew of Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee and actor Timothée Chalamet (celebrity guest picker) were on site in Atlanta ahead of the top five showdown between the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs and the No. 2 Texas Longhorns in the SEC Championship Game.
With the winners on championship Saturday set to clinch a berth — and in many cases a first-round bye — in the 12-team College Football Playoff, here’s who Saban picked to win Saturday’s games.
Nick Saban predicts Georgia-Texas SEC Championship Game winner
Saban picked Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns to win the rematch over Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs. Georgia and Texas met in the regular season on Oct. 19 in Austin, a 30-15 Georgia win. Smart and Sarkisian are two former Saban assistant coaches at Alabama that helped lead the Crimson Tide to national championships.
Saban said:
“So I flipped a coin on this one last time because I didn’t want to pick against either one of the guys that did a great job of coaching for me. So I’m staying with the coin toss again. It came up Texas and I am coming up Texas again today.”
Georgia-Texas is set for a 3 p.m. CT kickoff on ABC.
Nick Saban’s Big Ten title game prediction
In picking the Big Ten championship matchup between the No. 1 Oregon Ducks and No. 3 Penn State Nittany Lions, Saban said:
“I’m taking Oregon. One of the misconceptions about Oregon’s team is how physical they are. Everybody sees them as a skill team, but I really like what Dan Lanning has done to match the physicality of Penn State.”
Kickoff for Penn State-Oregon is set for 7 p.m. CT from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The game will be televised on CBS.
Nick Saban sees Clemson upset of SMU in ACC title clash
Saban took Dabo Swinney and the No. 17 Clemson Tigers in an upset over the No. 7 SMU Mustangs in the ACC Championship Game.
“I like Clemson. I think Dabo being in this game many, many times before, his team knows how to prepare for it, and I think the weather is going to have some impact on how SMU plays.”
Overnight lows are expected to drop to near freezing temperatures in Charlotte Saturday night. Clemson vs. SMU is set for a 7 p.m. CT kickoff on ABC at Bank of America Stadium.
RELATED: ‘College GameDay’ debates potential Alabama vs. SMU battle for final CFP spot
In the Big 12 title game, Saban picked No. 13 Arizona State to beat No. 16 Iowa State at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Kickoff for Arizona State-Iowa State is at 11 a.m. CT on ABC.