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Pat McAfee polls ESPN College GameDay crowd about Nick Saban's 'Indiana Jones' hat

ns_headshot_2024-clearby:Nick Schultz12/20/24

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Nick Saban's hat on College GameDay
Courtesy of @PatMcAfeeShow/X

When ESPN College GameDay came on the air Friday afternoon, it was 33 degrees in South Bend, Indiana ahead of Notre Dame vs. Indiana. The panel dressed accordingly for the conditions – and Nick Saban’s hat became a big hit.

Pat McAfee dubbed it his “Indiana Jones” hat as the show started from just outside Notre Dame Stadium. Later in the first segment, Rece Davis mentioned Saban’s fashion choice, which led McAfee to point out the legendary coach was debating even wearing it.

That led McAfee to poll the audience in attendance for the show. It’s safe to say, Saban’s hat was a hit with the fans standing before Touchdown Jesus.

“Hey, real quick, crowd. Can you see the hat Nick Saban is wearing right now?” McAfee said. “He was debating on whether or not to wear it. If you like it, can you make some noise, please? … If you think he shouldn’t have worn it, you can make some noise now. Made the right decision, brother.”

Saban isn’t the only analyst to break out a hat on a cold day in Indiana. Kirk Herbstreit and Desmond Howard donned stocking caps as temperatures hovered around freezing.

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College GameDay pulling double duty this weekend

Nick Saban, Pat McAfee and the rest of the College GameDay crew are in South Bend for Friday night’s College Football Playoff opener. Notre Dame and Indiana will play in the first of four first-round games, although the rest will take place on Saturday. That means the Fighting Irish and Hoosiers will play a standalone game Friday night at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and ESPN.

For the College GameDay crew, it’s shaping up to be a long couple days. After the show wraps up in South Bend, it will head to Columbus ahead of Ohio State vs. Tennessee, which will cap off Saturday’s slate of games. Lee Corso will also be on the desk after missing Friday’s installment ahead of Notre Dame vs. Indiana.

“We’ve got four hours today, Herbstreit’s got a beard. We don’t know if he’s going to shave before we get to Columbus,” Rece Davis joked. “We’re going to take you right up to kickoff. About four hours today. We’ve got three more hours tomorrow morning from Columbus. That is when Lee Corso will join us before the Ohio State-Tennessee game.”