Nick Saban cedes college football to Kirby Smart, predicts Georgia to win it all

With just four games on the Week 0 slate, the ESPN College Gameday crew, which now prominently features seven-time national champion Nick Saban, decided to make a few additional predictions with their weekly picks. That included a national championship pick for the first year of the 12-team College Football Playoff, and with it, Saban ceded college football supremacy to his former assistant and rival. 

Oh, and Pat McAfee picked the Bulldogs to win a third national championship in four years too. Though, it’s not hard to argue that Saban’s opinion carries quite a bit more weight than that of a former punter and wannabe professional wrestler who does a daily Joe Rogan impression on ESPN. 

Saban has also talked up his former team, the Alabama Crimson Tide, and new head coach Kalen DeBoer, but picking Georgia to win it all is the ultimate sign of respect for the team that Saban kept out of the four-team CFP last season. Without Saban and the Crimson Tide in the way, Georgia has a clear path to the SEC title and is the clear top dawg in the sport. 

The other head coach with a claim to Saban’s crown is Dabo Swinney, one of just three active head coaches in college football with a national championship on their resume, but Smart and Swinney won’t have to waste any time before playing for the belt. 

No. 1 Georgia and No. 14 Clemson will meet in Week 1 in the Aflac Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The last meeting was a 10-3 Georgia win in 2021, before Smart had a single championship ring on his finger.