Caitlin Clark’s first stint as an ESPN College GameDay guest picker was so big it set records. A week later, she was back to being a fan — and she couldn’t resist taking a shot at Nick Saban.

On Saturday, October 10, GameDay broadcast from Tuscaloosa ahead of Alabama’s home game against Georgia. With rain forcing the show indoors to the basketball arena, the crew went through the final picks — and Saban, as he so often does, chose his old school to win.

Clark, watching from home, responded on X with a 12-word post: “Dang really thought this was the week Coach Saban doesn’t pick Bama.”

It was a gentle jab at one of the show’s most predictable habits. Saban coached Alabama from 2007 to 2023, winning six national championships with the Crimson Tide before joining GameDay as an analyst in 2024. Picking his former team in its biggest games has become something of a tradition.

Clark knows the pressure of the pick segment firsthand. On October 3, she served as the celebrity guest picker when GameDay broadcast from Iowa City ahead of Iowa’s home game against Ohio State. After making her selections, Clark posted that she had “just went 10-0” on her picks.

Her appearance was a ratings phenomenon. According to ESPN, the Iowa City episode averaged 2.9 million viewers, with the final hour drawing 3.7 million — making it the most-watched October episode of College GameDay on record and the third most-watched regular-season episode in the show’s history.

Clark became just the fourth women’s basketball star to serve as a guest picker on the show, joining Sabrina Ionescu, Dawn Staley and Candace Parker.

Alabama and Georgia both entered Saturday’s matchup at 5-0, making it one of the biggest games of the college football season — and Saban’s pick, as Clark noted, was never really in doubt.

— Sources: Pro Football Network (Oct. 10, 2026); Athlon Sports (Oct. 2026). Viewership figures via ESPN as reported Oct. 10, 2026.