Nick Saban on the ESPN Gameday set at Rose Bowl Stadium Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Nick Saban Mentioned His Struggles vs. Purdue on College GameDay — Here's Why

Originally posted on Purdue Boilermakers on SI
By Dustin Schutte | Last updated Sep 6, 2025 11:23 AM ET

Nick Saban is still having nightmares about playing Purdue. Well, maybe that's not entirely true, but the seven-time national champion did mention the Boilermakers on Saturday morning's edition of College GameDay, saying that Joe Tiller's teams were his "nemesis" during his time at Michigan State.

The College GameDay crew was discussing Saturday's SEC matchup between No. 20 Ole Miss and Kentucky. Last year, the Wildcats defeated the Rebels 20-17, essentially costing Lane Kiffin's team a spot in the College Football Playoff.

When talking about the game, Saban referred to Kentucky as Ole Miss's "nemesis." That's when he mentioned his struggles against Purdue in the 1990s, when he was the head coach in East Lansing.

"When I was at Michigan State, Purdue was our nemesis," Saban said. "I mean, we were a good team, and Purdue beat us. We couldn't ever beat them, and that gets in your head."

Saban's struggles against Purdue were primarily against teams coached by Tiller. He was 0-3 against Tiller-coached teams from 1997-99. He finished his five-year run at Michigan State with a 1-1-3 record against the Boilermakers.

As much as Saban struggled against Purdue, his career turned out pretty well. He won seven national championships, six at Alabama and one at LSU. He's considered by many to be the greatest coach of all-time at the college level.

When it came to beating Tiller's Boilers, though, Saban didn't have any answers.

Nick Saban's record vs. Purdue

Saban was the head coach at Michigan State from 1995-99, finishing with a 34-24-1 record across those five years. He also had a 23-16-1 record in Big Ten games.

In those five seasons, Saban's teams played against two Purdue head coaches, Jim Colletto (1995-96) and Tiller (1997-99). Here are the results from each of those five meetings: