Nick Saban gives high praise to Kalani Sitake, environment at BYU football
Oct 23, 2026, 9:54 PM
ORLANDO, Fla. — The glow from BYU football’s 28-24 win over Notre Dame continues a week later.
On Friday, during ESPN’s Pat McAfee Show, legendary head coach and current College GameDay analyst Nick Saban hopped on with the man that BYU fans now call “Brother Pat” from inside Rice-Eccles Stadium.
McAfee asked Saban what he experienced in Provo last week for College GameDay from BYU’s campus.
"That was the most excitement and passion that I've seen since I've been on College GameDay..
That BYU team plays with so much confidence and it starts with Coach Sitake" ~ Coach Saban#PMSLive pic.twitter.com/n7HFNjjCh0
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 23, 2026
The former Alabama, LSU, and Michigan State coach is in his third season as an analyst with College GameDay, and he was impressed by the environment from BYU fans.
Nick Saban highlighted the excitement, energy, and passion from BYU football fans
“And that was the most excitement, and energy, and passion that I’ve seen from college football since I’ve been on the show,” Saban said on the Pat McAfee Show. “Of course, when I was coaching, you never saw that part of the game.”
BYU fans began camping out on Tuesday night and Wednesday in preparation for GameDay’s first visit to Provo since 2009 last week. It was the start of a memorable week of BYU football, capped by the monumental win over the Irish.
Kalani Sitake’s leadership was on display in the eyes of Saban
Saban couldn’t help but be impressed with BYU head coach Kalani Sitake.
“The leadership there, the coach (Kalani Sitake), he’s dancing before the freakin’ game,” Saban said. “I see that kind of confidence; I didn’t see a lot of guys that were tight or had a lot of anxiety the way they went out there and played and competed in the game. I think that’s a reflection of his leadership and the way he goes about coaching his team and the confidence they have in themselves.”
BYU’s appearance on College GameDay last week eclipsed 3 million viewers and was the most-viewed episode of College GameDay this season. The game against Notre Dame had 9.2 million viewers watching BYU’s upset victory over the Fighting Irish.
BYU football looks to keep the good times rolling when they take on UCF from the Bounce House on Saturday, October 24 at 1:30 p.m. (MT) on FOX and KSL NewsRadio.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSL and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast daily on KSL Sports YouTube and KSL NewsRadio (SUBSCRIBE). Harper also co-hosts Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL NewsRadio.
Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU athletics in the Big 12 Conference on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram: @Mitch_Harper.
