Nick Saban trolls Marshawn Lynch but gets the facts wrong about the Seahawks
By Lee Vowell
On ESPN's College GameDay on Saturday, an odd pairing of Nick Saban and Marshawn Lynch was pushed together. The reason Lynch was on the broadcast is that his California Golden Bears were one of the featured teams. Saban, of course, is a preeminent voice in college football. The issue was when Saban made a reference to a sore spot for Seattle Seahawks fans.
12s will not fondly remember Super Bowl XLIX when Seattle had the ball inside the New England Patriots ten-yard line and first-and-goal. On first down, Lynch gained five yards to get the ball to the one-yard line. On second down, the Seahawks chose to pass the ball and Russell Wilson threw an interception. The Patriots won the game.
Of course, Lynch should have gotten the ball several more times, if needed. If he didn't score on second down, he should have gotten the ball on third down and so on. He never got the chance. The loss changed how some Seahawks viewed the team and Seattle has not reached a Super Bowl since. They haven't come close in recent seasons.
Nick Saban insults the Seahawks while paying a complement to Marshawn Lynch
Everyone knows that Lynch should have been given the ball. He knows it and so do most 12s. Nick Saban knows it as well.
On Saturday, when both Saban and Lynch were set to make their picks for games, Saban said, "Marshawn, we may disagree on our pick today, but I'm telling you man, fourth-and-1 in the Super Bowl at the one, I'm giving your ass the ball."
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The former Alabama coach is not wrong. He would have likely given Lynch the ball just as much as Pete Carroll should have changed offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell's call to a run. What Saban got wrong, however, was the facts. Fourth-and-1 never was a possibility for Seattle. Wilson threw a pick on second down.
Likely, Saban was trying to pay Lynch a back-handed complement but he fumbled the real facts of what happened between the Seahawks and Patriots. Lynch would have probably scored before fourth down and Seattle would have had its second straight Super Bowl victory. Instead, Seahawks fans have to live with the awful memory of what happened and Saban can go on mixing up the facts.
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