One of the Iron Bowl's greatest legends is in disbelief over the craze and passion of Ohio State fans surrounding The Game.
Seven-time national champion and former Alabama head coach Nick Saban called Buckeye Nation "psychotic" during an appearance on the Pat McAfee show on Wednesday.
"I said it last year. These Ohio State fans, they're all psychotic about this, man. They all need to go see a doctor someplace," Saban said. "I'd rather win the national championship than beat Michigan. That's just me. Although I'd love to beat Michigan, don't get me wrong."
"These Ohio State fans are psychotic about this. They all need to go see a doctor. ... I'd rather win the National Championship than beat Michigan."
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 26, 2025
Nick Saban doesn't understand Ohio State fans' obsession with beating Michigan
( @PatMcAfeeShow) pic.twitter.com/bwZPFhtUqs
Saban isn't joking that many Ohio State fans would rather beat Michigan than win a national championship, even if the latter is the much more prestigious achievement to everyone outside the rivalry. Growing up and living in Ohio, you meet countless people who will voice that opinion to you. In the summer of 2024, Eleven Warriors conducted a poll that posed that exact question, and 48% of the more than 4,000 votes went with "Beat Michigan."
When it comes to The Game, it just means more than any other college football rivalry does to its fanbases.
Being such a legend of the coaching ranks, it's a good sign that Saban took a similar approach to the Iron Bowl as Day takes to big weeks like this: Block out the outside noise and keep it about "us," as Day would say.
"I tried to minimize the noise, knowing that the players are hearing all these things," Saban said. "What I wanted our players to do is think that it's gonna be about what we do. So let's focus on what we do to have to go execute and play our best football in the game, and things will take care of themselves."
Hostile atmospheres create chances for memorable victories, something Ohio State's players should remember, Saban added.
"It's gonna be difficult to play on the road, but that difficulty is what creates an opportunity to have a great win," Saban said. "So, if you focus on the right things and look at it as an opportunity (you'll have success)."
People sometimes forget that Saban coached defensive backs at Ohio State in 1980 and 1981 under Earle Bruce, and in the latter year, the Buckeyes were heading to Ann Arbor fresh off a 9-3 loss to Michigan at home the year prior. OSU was unranked with three losses on the season, and the Wolverines were the No. 7 team in the country.
Ohio State upset Michigan 14-9 that year. Saban said the team's mindset of opportunity made the difference.
"We had a terrible, negative week of practice, but Woody (Hayes) came and talked to the team and said, 'This is an opportunity for a great win,'" Saban said. "And that was the difference in the mindset of how we played. And they played tight, and we played loose, and we played ass over tea kettle and won the game."
