In the latest CFB Playoff rankings, undefeated Oregon held its ground at the top, while Georgia was surprisingly pushed out of the bracket following their crushing defeat to Ole Miss. Oregon, led by Dan Lanning, continues to dominate with a flawless 10-0 record in the Big Ten, solidifying their place as one of the strongest teams in college football. Meanwhile, in the SEC, the battle rages on. Georgia, under Kirby Smart, is set to face the Tennessee Volunteers tomorrow in a high-stakes Week 12 matchup. With a spot in the 2024 playoffs on the line, this showdown between two top-15 teams and conference rivals promises to be both thrilling and pivotal.

Nick Saban weighed in on the Tennessee vs. Georgia game during today’s episode of The Pat McAfee Show on ESPN, issuing a challenge to Tennessee. He remarked, “When we play on the road, you got to make the fans sit on their hands so it won’t be a hard place to play. And then when they leave, you know you defeated them; you just didn’t win the game; you defeated them. He shows me a picture of the stadium at the end of the LSU game empty, and you know Dan Lanning did that at Michigan. But that’s the mentality you have to have when you play on the road in these hard places to play.”

Saban’s point? Winning isn’t just about the scoreboard—it’s about breaking your opponent’s spirit to the point that even their fans feel defeated. He’s calling on Tennessee to adopt this mindset when they face Georgia.

Saban shared a personal example to drive his point home: “When I was a coach at LSU and we beat Alabama, it was the first time in like 30 years that LSU beat Alabama. Our record was 6-2 going there, and it’s 3-10-2 all-time in favor of the visiting team. It was a hard place to play, but the fans all left the game.” This highlights the power of a coach’s ability to inspire players to overcome tough environments.

Saban believes Josh Heupel needs to channel this mentality and emulate Dan Lanning’s Oregon when Tennessee takes on Georgia. Lanning’s game against Michigan set the gold standard for silencing a crowd. Don’t believe it? Go watch the highlights of Oregon vs. Michigan for proof.

Dan Lanning imposed a pause

Before the game against the Wolverines, Ducks’ HC Dan Lanning had a strategy. Earlier in the week, when the unbeaten Ducks were getting ready to play the reigning national champions, he told his players about a thing he intended to do during their game at Michigan. And fans witnessed Lanning request a timeout in the fourth quarter to remind them of this concept in a “Ducks vs. Them” preview clip of the triumph.

Lanning can be seen in the clip reminding his team that he discussed “this moment” with them on Monday. After that, it went straight to some behind-the-scenes video from a team meeting that had taken place before. He played a video of Mike Krzyzewski talking about away wins and what it’s like to see home fans being muted and departing early during this period.

Players were unsure of where the Michigan fans had gone when the recap cut back to the actual game. Lanning called timeouts and instructed his players to simply gaze into the seats and watch fans leave for home. The student-athletes will never forget this moment. And it obviously motivated the roster. Now can’t wait to see what other tricks Josh Heupel has up his sleeve.