Alabama legend Nick Saban receives electric welcome at College GameDay in Tuscaloosa before TY Simpson vs Diego Pavia showdown in Week 6

Tuscaloosa is lively on Saturday as legendary Alabama coach Nick Saban has returned to campus for ESPN’s “College GameDay.” The seven-time national championship was welcomed with electric chants from the crowd as Pat McAfee introduced him live on set.

Saban will witness the Week 6 matchup between Alabama and undefeated Vanderbilt. Alabama, 3-1, is led by quarterback Ty Simpson, who has thrown for 1,138 yards, 11 touchdowns and completed 69.3% of his passes in four games. His precision has charged an offense that has yet to turn the ball over this season.

Meanwhile, Vanderbilt is off to a 5-0 start, thanks largely to quarterback Diego Pavia, who has totaled 1,211 yards and 13 touchdowns, completing 74.6% of his throws.

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Nick Saban on what Ty Simpson needs to do against Diego Pavia

Diego Pavia led Vanderbilt to a 40-35 upset over Alabama last season. In that game, he accounted for 308 total yards, two touchdowns and kept the Crimson Tide defense off balance by controlling possession for over 42 minutes.

This season, Pavia and the Commodores look stronger. Vanderbilt’s defensive front has routinely disrupted opposing offences, while Alabama’s defense has had a hard time generating consistent pressure.

On Friday’s episode of the “The Pat McAfee Show,” Nick Saban said this year’s Vanderbilt team is much better than last year's and called Pavia a major reason why.

“Last year to me it was the Diego Pavia show,” Saban said. “He ran it. They did quarterback runs. He dominated the game. He dominates the game now in a different way because to me he makes every player on his team better, because he’s a much better passer. Went from 57% to 70% completion. He’s got better skill guys, better runner.

"I think they’re a little better on defense. So this is a real team to me. And this guy is a tremendous playmaker. He’s like a point guard out there.”

To win, Nick Saban said Alabama needs to control the pace of the game and protect the ball.

“We need to keep the ball on offense, run it a little better, because the one thing Vandy’s defense is going to be able to do is they get you on third down now, they have really good pressure packages and they’re bringing people from everywhere,” Saban said.

“So, Ty’s going to have to handle that. … You want to have balance because … it’s going to be tough to contain Vanderbilt the whole time so keep the ball away from the guy.”

Nevertheless, the Crimson Tide offense under new coach Kalen DeBoer is clicking. Ty Simpson is averaging nearly 300 passing yards per game, and Alabama’s mistake-free play has kept them competitive in recent games.

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