Throughout his storied coaching career, Nick Saban has rarely shied away from an opportunity to express his thoughts on topics related to college football.
In a recent appearance on the “Pat McAfee Show,” the seven-time national championship winning coach discussed some potential downsides to the new 12-team College Football Playoff format.
Under the expanded playoffs, the five highest-ranked conference champions will receive automatic postseason bids. The four highest-ranked conference champions will receive a bye in the first round. Saban suggested that this concept could have unintended consequences.
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Nick Saban sits on the ESPN College Gameday set prior to the NCAA football game between the Penn State Nittany Lions and Ohio State Buckeyes at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pa., Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024.
“By giving the conference champions a bye when they are not the highest-ranked team, what it really impacts is their path to the championship,” he argued.
NICK SABAN made an interesting comment about Ohio State’s $20 million football roster.
“And if you don’t assign teams based on the quality of their performance throughout the season…” he continued. “The No. 1 seed should technically have the easiest path to the championship, and allowing conference champions to be seeded in the top four when they aren’t in the top four doesn’t really make that happen.”
September 7, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Nick Saban leaves Bryant-Denny Stadium after the stadium was renamed after him during halftime of Alabama’s 42-16 win over South Florida. (Gary Cosby Jr. – USA TODAY Network via Imagine Images)
There were several upsets to the college football schedule last week. Alabama lost to Oklahoma, Florida upset Ole Miss, and Auburn took down Texas A&M. Alabama, Ole Miss and Texas A&M all enter the final week of the regular season with three losses.
Saban was opposed to a team that lost three games being rewarded by making the playoffs.
“I think it’s hard to reward a team right now with three losses,” Saban said. “Especially the teams that lost, like Ole Miss and Alabama, were about .500 teams. That’s a pretty average team. There may be other teams that aren’t in the same tournament but aren’t. Even the average team. “Don’t be defeated.”
Alabama coach Nick Saban speaks during the NCAA College Football Southeastern Conference Media Day, Tuesday, July 19, 2022, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
From Saban’s perspective, the Georgia Bulldogs are the only potential three-loss team that could be seriously considered for the playoffs. Georgia entered its annual in-state rivalry matchup with Georgia Tech on Nov. 29 with two losses.
The Bulldogs are scheduled to play the winner of this weekend’s Texas-Texas A&M game in the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta. Even if Georgia drops that game, Saban doesn’t think they should be eliminated from playoff contention.
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“If Georgia actually plays in the SEC Championship Game, they shouldn’t be punished for losing the game,” Saban said. “They’re going to end up with three losses. I don’t think a team that’s been in a championship game with two losses should be in it, especially if they had a good game and it wasn’t a blowout.”
Oregon remains atop the latest playoff rankings, with Ohio State, Texas, Penn State and Notre Dame rounding out the top five.
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