Nick Saban Calls Out Ohio State Fans for 'Psychotic Obsession With Michigan'

Nick Saban thinks Ohio State fans need to get over “That Team Up North.”

Nick Saban and Lee Corso talk on the set of ESPN College GameDay. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Just days ahead of their rematch with No. 1 Oregon in the quarterfinals of the college football playoff, fans of No. 8 Ohio State are still going through it.

Despite putting up a dominant performance against No. 9 Tennessee in the first round of the postseason, Buckeyes nation still can’t quite get past their loss to arch rival Michigan to close out the regular season.

Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban has a clear message for Ohio State fans: Get Over It.

“These Ohio State fans, they’ve got a psychotic obsession with MIchigan, and they need to get therapy or something to get it fixed,” Saban said on Friday while appearing as a guest on The Pat McAfee Show. “They have a chance to win the national championship, and here you are, nobody’s excited about their opportunity to play because they lost to Michigan. It was a tough game, they lost the game with some of the mistakes they made, so those are correctable things.”

According to Saban, the Buckeyes might be the best team left in the playoffs, even though they're facing off against an opponent they already lost to in the regular season.

“I think this is probably the most talented team [in the field] if they play to their standard,” Saban said. “Offense, defense, they’ve pretty much got it all.”

Indeed, Ohio State has let “That Team Up North” get to their heads a bit. Before their fateful showdown against the Wolverines, head coach Ryan Day said losing to Michigan was “the worst thing that’s happened” for his family aside from the death of his father. After the loss, as players from both sides broke out in a scuffle over some disagreements on the merits of flag-planting, Day could only stand in stunned silence.

But as Saban said, it’s time to get over it. The Buckeyes are three wins away from a national title, and the only direction worth looking in is forward. Ohio State’s rematch against Oregon kicks off on Wednesday, Jan. 1, at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN.

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