Nick Saban reacts as Vanderbilt plays a video of him following the win over Alabama football

Former Alabama coach Nick Saban wasn’t in Nashville to see Vanderbilt upset Alabama football, but his presence was felt.

Immediately after the 40-35 score was made final, the Commodores played a clip of Saban on “The Pat McAfee Show” from an old episode.

“The only place you play in the SEC that’s not tough to play Vanderbilt,” Saban said in the clip. “You have more fans than them. That’s no disrespect to them. It’s the truth.”

Saban joined “The Pat McAfee Show” on Friday for an appearance from Eugene, Oregon and it was reported that the clip of him was shown in Nashville. He said he didn’t know it had happened.

“But if you look at the stadium, half the crowd were Alabama fans,” Saban said Friday.

It might have been even more than that. The crowd certainly didn’t feel like an outside Crimson Tide crowd.

Saban didn’t watch the game until he got home because it ended around the same time he got back to Tuscaloosa. He saw it on tape, though.

“That was very difficult,” Saban said.

Vanderbilt beat Alabama for the first time since 1984. Saban never lost to the Commodores in his 17 seasons with the Crimson Tide, winning four matchups against Vanderbilt.

Next, No. 7 Alabama faces South Carolina on Saturday (11 a.m., ABC) at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Nick Kelly is a beat writer from Alabama AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X i Instagram.