What did David Pollack say to Nick Saban? Former Georgia star's awkward moment on live television goes viral
The awkward incident involving Alabama coach Nick Saban and David Pollack during ESPN's halftime show of the 2023 CFP National Championship in January has not stopped making waves on the internet.
The Georgia Bulldogs led the TCU Horned Frogs 38-7 at halftime en route to a 65-7 victory. Pollack, a Georgia alumnus, seized the moment to commend Kirby Smart's program for its exceptional performance over the past two seasons.
David Pollack boldly declared Georgia as the new dominant force in college football, implying a shift in the sport's hierarchy. Notably, he made this comment in the presence of Nick Saban.
It’s over.
Dave Pollack is now on Nick Saban’s “most wanted” list and his entire family might be in danger. https://t.co/38sahqKVmo
In a scenario that appeared like he forgot who was sitting right beside him, the college football analyst and former linebacker said:
“We love the Cinderella story and we love when this comes about, but this isn’t really the Cinderella ending. Georgia, obviously, we’ve seen from the past couple of seasons now, really, they’ve taken hold of college football. Unbelievable job.”
Saban's subtle reaction to David Pollack's comments created a memorable and widely shared moment. Everyone watching noted the Alabama coach's body language in the interaction.
David Pollack said the statement wasn’t a shot at Saban
To some college football fans, it was deemed highly disrespectful for someone to make such a claim while sitting next to arguably the greatest coach of all time. For the record, the Alabama coach has an impressive seven national championships to his name.
Interesting how much traffic and disagreement this got on social. Back to back champs, 1 loss in 2 years. How is this not true? twitter.com/barstoolsports…
The incident sparked a wild reaction across the college football world. However, Pollack said his statement about Georgia taking over college football was not intended as a dig at Nick Saban. He said:
“First of all, I didn’t even think about who I was sitting next to when I said it," Pollack said. "It had nothing to do with having Nick next to me. We were at halftime, you know how this works, we have to talk about something and it dang sure wasn’t the game.
“It had nothing to do with taking a shot at Nick. Nick didn’t say a word. He wasn’t upset in the slightest. It was not a shot at Nick Saban.”
The incident brings some questions to the surface. Is Georgia's surge strong enough to supplant Alabama as college football's biggest powerhouse? Was Georgia's 33-18 win over Alabama for the 2021 national title a passing of the torch? Or will the two Southeastern Conference powers just duke it out, year after year? Are there any other programs -- Ohio State, Michigan, LSU, Florida, Texas -- that will emerge atop the mountain? Kirby Smart learned plenty as Saban's assistant over the years, but Saban is still around. The next few years will provide an answer.)