During his storied coaching career, Nick Saban rarely passed up an opportunity to express his opinions on topics related to college football.
During a recent appearance on the “Pat McAfee Show,” the seven-time national championship winning coach discussed some of the potential downsides of the new 12-team college football format.
Under the expanded playoffs The highest-ranked conference champion among the five will receive an automatic postseason bid. The four highest-ranked conference champions will receive a first-round bye. Saban suggests that this idea could result in unintended consequences.
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Nick Saban sits at ESPN College Gameday taking place before the NCAA football game between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Ohio State Buckeyes at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pa. on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024.
“By awarding a conference championship. When they weren’t the top-ranked team, the bye…things really had an impact. It is the path to becoming a champion,” he said.
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“And when you don’t place a team based on the quality of their performance all season…” he continued, “the No. 1 team should technically have the easiest path to the championship. And that really isn’t going to happen. When you allow a conference champion to be in the top four. When they are not one of the top four teams.”
7 Sep 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States; Nick Saban walks off the field after the name was changed in his honor at Bryant-Denny Stadium. At halftime Alabama beat South Florida 42-16. (Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY Network via Imagen Images)
Last week’s college football game took several twists and turns. Alabama lost to Oklahoma. Florida upsets Ole Miss and Auburn fell to Texas A&M. Alabama, Ole Miss and Texas A&M will enter the final week of the regular season with three losses.
Saban argued the three-loss team received the reward of advancing to the playoffs.
“I think when we get heated up about this, Just like now It’s hard to reward a team with three losses,” Saban said. “Especially the loss that Ole Miss had and like Alabama lost 500. I like to call them ‘em. It’s a pretty normal team. You have other teams. that maybe they don’t play in the same show But they didn’t lose to the average team either.”
Alabama head coach Nick Saban speaks during college football NCAA Southeastern Conference Media Days, Tuesday, July 19, 2022, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
From Saban’s perspective, the Georgia Bulldogs are the only potentially three-loss team that should be in serious playoff consideration. Georgia enters its annual tournament showdown with Georgia Tech on November 1st, 29, losing 2 matches.
The Bulldogs are then scheduled to play the winner of the Texas-Texas A&M game this weekend in the SEC Championship game in Atlanta if Georgia is eliminated from that game. Saban also doesn’t believe they should be eliminated from the playoffs.
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“If Georgia actually played in the SEC Championship Game, they really shouldn’t have been penalized. If they lose this game,” Saban said, “they will end up with three losses. I don’t think a team that didn’t play in the championship game with two losses should get in. Especially if they play a good game and stay unbeaten.”
Oregon remains at the top spot in the latest playoff rankings. with Ohio State, Texas, Penn State and Notre Dame rounding out the top five.
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