Nick Saban picks against his former college football team on Saturday

Nick Saban picked his former school to lose on College GameDay. No, not THAT former school-- it's Michigan State who Saban predicted to take an upset loss against Boston College. The former Alabama coach has spent much of Week 2 talking about his most famous former team, but it's another school he coached for that Saban put on upset alert.

Saban's take

I always root for Michigan State, but I was really surprised that Boston College was a four and a half point underdog here, so I'm gonna take Boston College.Nick Saban

Saban's pick drew an audible "Mmmm" from one of his co-hosts, and might surprise many. It's certainly clear that personal favorites aside, Saban takes his role as a college football analyst seriously and will pick accordingly.

Michigan State/Boston College

Both teams are 1-0 and Michigan State will be at home against Boston College this evening. The Spartans are led by second-year coach Jonathan Smith and are looking to bounce back from three straight losing seasons. Second-year QB Aidan Chiles led a 23-6 win in Week 1 over Western Michigan.

Boston College also opened with a win, 66-10 over FCS Fordham. Bill O'Brien is in his second year and BC has gone 7-6 in each of the last two seasons. QB Tommy Castellanos notably transferred to Florida State and Alabama transfer Dylan Lonergan (268 yards, 4 TDs in Week 1) will lead the offense.

Saban's analysis is supported by at least one other source-- ESPN's FPI gives Boston College a 52.5% chance of pulling the road upset.

Saban at Michigan State

Saban had been a head coach for just one college season at Toledo in 1990 before settling in at Michigan State after his time as defensive coordinator for the Bill Belichick-led Cleveland Browns. In five seasons at MSU, Saban was 34-24-1, and led his final team to the Citrus Bowl following the 1999 season. Saban left MSU to take the LSU head coaching job for the 2000 season.

Despite what are apparently fond memories of his first major head coaching job, Saban still calls it how he sees it-- and he sees a Spartan loss in Week 2.