Earlier this week, Nick Saban accused Texas A&M of piping in extra crowd noise during home games inside Kyle Field. He doubled down on this claim on ESPN College GameDay ahead of the Aggies’ first round College Football Playoff game vs. Miami.
However, he still gave credit to the fans in College Station for making Texas A&M one of the most difficult places to play in not only the SEC, but in all of college football. He recalled one of his own experiences to attest to this statement.
“Let me just say this, I think this is the hardest place to play in the SEC,” Saban said during the second hour of the show. “We came here, I think in ’21. (It was) the first game I lost to an assistant coach. Jimbo (Fisher) was a coach (at Alabama). We got behind 24-3 in the game. We go back and get ahead 38-31. I look at the scoreboard and I say, ‘How the hell we get here?’ Then we got beat by a field goal, so they came back in the game.
“The momentum swings in this place are just unbelievable when you’re trying to coach against this crowd. The 12th man is real here.”
Saban coached against Texas A&M in College Station six times since the Aggies joined the SEC in 2012. He finished 5-1 in Kyle Field at Alabama.
With the 12th man expected to show up stronger than ever ahead of Texas A&M’s first-ever College Football Playoff game, the No. 10-seed Miami Hurricanes will get the full experience on Saturday afternoon. As a 7-seed in the playoff, the Aggies are hosting their opening game in the CFP.
Still, Saban is convinced the Aggies are using a little extra noise to make things that much more difficult on their opposition. He appears steadfast in his belief.
“But y’all are still piping noise to make it difficult,” Saban said, turning to the crowd amassed around the College GameDay set. “I don’t give a sh*t what you say.”
Alleged faux crowd noise aside, Texas A&M and Miami will face off at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday. The game will air live on ABC and ESPN. The winner will advance to the CFP quarterfinals to play against Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.