An Alabama football “mystery” has been solved, apparently.

The Crimson Tide used the “LANK” rallying cry in 2023, rebounding from an early-season slump to win the SEC title and reach the College Football Playoff. Quarterback Jalen Milroe and cornerback Terrion Arnold were among those who helped popularize the slogan, which (allegedly) stands for “Let All Naysayers Know.”

During Saturday’s edition of ESPN College GameDay, the panelists were discussing Arizona State, which is 8-2 this season and uses the slogan “Activate The Valley.” (Tempe is in the “Valley of the Sun.”) That reminded former Alabama coach Nick Saban — now a GameDay analyst — of the origins of “LANK,” which he claims to have invented.

“Arizona State has something going for it, though. When your team buys into something, like Coach (Kenny) Dillingham said ‘Activate The Valley,’” Saban said. “That reminds me of our team last year. We were getting killed (in the media). We got beat by Texas, we barely beat South Florida. We were getting killed. ‘The dynasty’s done. Alabama’s done. They’re never gonna win another game.’

“And I just went in and gave a regular pep talk, never thought anything about it. I just said ‘We need to let all naysayers know.’ Well, Terrion Arnold and Jalen Milroe take that and make it a public thing. That became the rallying cry of our entire team. ‘Activate the Valley’ is kind of (Arizona State’s) rallying cry. You never know what teams are going to buy into.”

Saban’s story drew howls from fellow GameDay panelists Desmond Howard and Pat McAfee, who were reminded of a memorable moment from the show last year. Host Rece Davis was describing the “LANK” rallying cry and seemed to imply that the “N” might stand for something else.

“Is there anything about ‘Activate the Valley’ that I should know?,” Davis deadpanned.

Here’s video:

Alabama faces Oklahoma on Saturday night. Perhaps some enterprising reporter will ask Milroe if Saban’s story is true.