Coverage for the highly-anticipated Orange Bowl clash between Notre Dame and Penn State got off to a slightly rocky start on ESPN due to an unfortunate technical issue

Comedian Shane Gillis said Nick Saban was angered by the comedian's joke on 'College GameDay' about the legendary Alabama coach paying players

It's not uncommon for ESPN to bring comedians on College GameDay as a celebrity guest picker. And when that happens, the vibe on set is supposed to be, well, comedic. That didn't exactly jell with Nick Saban.

ESPN's 'College GameDay' coverage of the Orange Bowl was hit by an awkward technical blunder as ex-Alabama coach Nick Saban was interrupted by host Rece Davis

Shane Gillis said he had a fiery off-camera interaction with Nick Saban after the comedian called the legendary Alabama coach a cheater on ESPN’s “College Gameday” last month. Gillis was first confronted by the coach after he told Pat McAfee and Kirk Herbstreit that the Crimson Tide only dominated because they were cheating by paying their players while others did not.

When comedian Shane Gillis appeared on "College GameDay" in December, he cracked a joke about Nick Saban cheating at Alabama. Earlier this week, he opened up about his rift with the legendary college football coach.

Real-mad or play-mad? Either way, the tense confrontation between the Hall of Fame coach and superstar comedian was a win for all involved.