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Notre Dame Fan Shane Gillis Pokes Fun at Nick Saban, Alabama on 'College GameDay'
Comedian and Notre Dame fan Shane Gillis was the guest picker on ESPN's College GameDay ahead of the first game of the 2024 College Football Playoff between the Fighting Irish and Indiana.
During his appearance on the show, Gillis threw shade at former Alabama coach Nick Saban by accusing that Saban and SEC schools used to pay their players to sign the top recruits out of high school before the usage of a student-athlete's name, image, and likeness became legal in the NCAA.
“Now that everybody can pay their players Notre Dame has a shot," Gillis said on College GameDay. "Not just the SEC and Coach Saban.”
“Now that everybody can pay their players Notre Dame has a shot. Not just the SEC and Coach Saban.” - Shane Gillis on Gameday 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/vPwu2Khunn
— Karter Baughan (@karterb8) December 21, 2024
Gillis sarcastically clarified shortly after that his comments were merely a joke. "I was just joking around. I don't think the SEC paid players, ever."
Shane Gillis calls Nick Saban ‘Alabama Jones’ while saying SEC never paid players before NIL
— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace_) December 21, 2024
“That’s how we cheated, we developed players”- Saban 😂pic.twitter.com/db28YlnwcD
Gillis also made a joke about Saban's outfit, referring to the legendary head coach as "Alabama Jones."
Gillis is hoping that the Fighting Irish will win their first national championship since 1988. Notre Dame is the No. 5 seed in the inaugural edition of the 12-team CFP, and is taking on Indiana during the first round.
Though Notre Dame is a historically successful program, it hasn't seen the recent dominance that Saban had with Alabama before retiring. As Alabama's head coach, Saban led the Crimson Tide to six national championship victories. He had a 201–29 record as Alabama's head coach, and most recently defeated Notre Dame in the 2021 Rose Bowl.
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Eva Geitheim is a breaking/trending news writer at Sports Illustrated. She is a UCLA graduate with a Bachelor's degree in communications. Prior to joining SI, Eva wrote for Newsweek, Gymnastics Now, and Dodgers Nation. She is a proud Bay Area native. When not writing, she can be found baking or re-watching Gilmore Girls.