The Aporia · Never-before-seen footage reveals Nick Saban telling Jalen Hurts he’s benched in national championship game

Never-before-seen footage reveals Nick Saban telling Jalen Hurts he’s benched in national championship game

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McCarron, G. (2026, October 9). Never-before-seen footage reveals Nick Saban telling Jalen Hurts he’s benched in national championship game. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/10/09/sports/footage-shows-nick-saban-benching-jalen-hurts-in-cfp-title-game/

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Quick Summary

The ESPN documentary “Saban” features never-before-seen footage of Nick Saban benching Jalen Hurts at halftime during the 2018 national championship game against Georgia and replacing him with Tua Tagovailoa. Saban explains that his decision was based on Alabama’s poor performance in the first half, with a deficit of 13-0 and Hurts throwing for only 21 yards. The footage shows Saban making the change in a calm and calculated manner, despite the pressure of the moment, and the team went on to win the game 26-23 after Tagovailoa’s outstanding performance, including scoring the winning touchdown in overtime.

Written by AI on 2026-10-09, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

The new ESPN documentary "Saban" features never-before-seen footage from 2018, showing legendary college football coach Nick Saban benching then-quarterback Jalen Hurts during halftime of the national championship game against Georgia in favor of Tua Tagovailoa. Alabama ultimately won the title, defeating Georgia. In the documentary, Saban explains his decision to make the change when Alabama was trailing 13-0 and Hurts had thrown for only 21 yards. During an interview, Saban also revealed that he asked offensive coordinator Brian Daboll who would inform Hurts of the switch, to which Daboll deferred responsibility back to Saban. This move significantly impacted both players' careers and highlighted Saban's strategic decision-making in high-stakes games.

Written for “College Football Bench Decision” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

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sentences that state something as happening or true

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0 of 18 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

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not political

takes no side on a contested political question

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66/100

New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

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articles that frame the event the way this one does

Who wrote this

Grace McCarron

66 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

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Also by Grace McCarron

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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 66 articles by Grace McCarron →

Claims (18 extracted, 0 hedged)

The new ESPN documentary “Saban,” detailing the illustrious life and career of legendary college football coach Nick Saban, includes never-before-seen footage of a particularly well-known moment from Saban’s time at Alabama. asserted

documentary → detail → Alabama

The documentary shows Saban’s decision to bench Jalen Hurts at halftime of the 2018 national championship game in favor of Tua Tagovailoa. asserted

documentary → show → Tagovailoa

Alabama went on to defeat Georgia to win the title. asserted

Alabama → go → title

In a sit-down interview for the documentary, Saban described how he told the coaches he was making the change. asserted

he → sit → change

Then-offensive coordinator Brian Daboll asked Saban who would tell Hurts, and Saban replied, “Does that mean you want me to tell him?” asserted

me → ask → him

The clip cuts to the locker room, where Saban gestures to Tagovailoa and says, “We’ll choose as we go, but you’re gonna start the second half, and then we’re gonna play two guys.” asserted

we → cut → guys

Saban explains that he knew “it was the time” to make the change at the half with Alabama down 13-0 and Hurts having thrown for only 21 yards. asserted

Hurts → explain → yards

Later in the clip, Hurts addressed the moment, saying he “can’t say that I was surprised” before trailing off to a long pause. asserted

I → address → pause

“He’s a competitor,” Saban said. asserted

Saban → ’ → ?

“He wants to play. asserted

He → want → ?

He wants to do well. asserted

He → want → ?

No different than anybody else that ever played the sport. asserted

that → play → sport

Nobody wants to be insignificant, but I didn’t make that decision in two minutes. asserted

I → want → minutes

I made it in two minutes, but I thought about it for two months. asserted

I → make → months

You don’t just make emotional decisions like, ‘I’m really frustrated we’re not moving the ball right now, so I’m gonna change quarterbacks.’ asserted

I → make → quarterbacks

No, it was calculated.” asserted

it → calculate → ?

The decision worked out well for Saban and the Crimson Tide. asserted

decision → work → Saban

Tagovailoa threw three touchdowns, including the game-winner to DeVonta Smith in overtime, in the 26-23 Alabama win. asserted

Tagovailoa → throw → win

Never-before-seen footage reveals Nick Saban telling Jalen Hurts he’s benched in national championship game

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Claims (18 extracted, 0 hedged)