Unmasking Nick Saban's SEC scheduling stance: Why Alabama's not dodging LSU and Tennessee
The notion the Alabama coach is sweating the idea of continuing to play Tennessee and LSU annually is a reach. Nick Saban, the most successful coach in SEC football history, has voiced his support for competitive scheduling and believes that the league needs to go to a nine-game format with three permanent opponents, such as Auburn, Tennessee and LSU for the Crimson Tide. Saban recently said that if Alabama plays more games, it must get the three fixed (opponents) right. The league is using a 10-year success metric, and Saban is trying to put his foot down ahead of SEC and playoff expansion and deliver his thoughts on changes that could be made to better the product.
公開済み : 10ヶ月前 沿って Brad Crawford の Sports
Nick Saban is the most successful coach in SEC football history, so his opinion on the league's future scheduling debate carries obvious weight. For years, the Alabama coach has preached competitive scheduling and backs the notion of more quality games, pointing to fan interest levels while in turn, increasing the likelihood of parity within the conference.
With all this in mind, Saban's recent remarks on his hope for the SEC to get it right with Alabama's permanent opponents seem to have been misinterpreted a bit. The notion Saban is backing down from the idea of playing LSU and Tennessee annually is a bit absurd, yet seems to be the growing narrative. Much of this stems from his comments to Sports Illustrated earlier this spring about the SEC's need for schedule equity should the league go to a nine-game format with three permanent opponents.
The league is using a 10-year success metric, according to Saban, to determine every program's three permanent opponents which happen to be Auburn, Tennessee and LSU for the Crimson Tide.
“I’ve always been an advocate for playing more (conference) games,” Saban said in the SI interview. “But if you play more games, I think you have to get the three fixed (opponents) right. They’re giving us Tennessee, Auburn and LSU. I don’t know how they come to that (decision).”
LSU won the SEC West last season under Brian Kelly and Tennessee has noticeable positive momentum under Josh Heupel, but it's not like Saban is cowering in the corner about continuing these two rivalries.
We're talking about the same guy who went perfect against the only 10-game SEC schedule in history in 2020 en route to a national championship, just landed the No. 1 signing class for the 2023 cycle per 247Sports and holds an 88.7 winning percentage against SEC competition since 2011.
Oh, and there's at least two non-conference games against Power Five opponents — including Wisconsin, Florida State, Ohio State and others — scheduled every year on Alabama's upcoming schedules from 2024 through 2030. Still, there's a contingent of folks out there who think he's afraid of continuing to play the Tigers and Volunteers annually?
C'mon. This is simply Saban trying to put his foot down ahead of SEC and playoff expansion and delivering his thoughts on changes that could be made to better the product.
Saban is infinitely more focused on Alabama taking out Georgia at the top of the conference (and college football) than he is losing sleep over the SEC getting it right with future scheduling. The league is sticking with an eight-game slate for the 2024 season, while the conference figures out the logistics of a nine-game slate down the road. With the arrival of Texas and Oklahoma, there will be no divisions next season and the conference hasn't yet decided if it's going with the 1-7 model or a designated combination of opponents.
For a coach who's won seven national championships in the SEC, including three during the four-team College Football Playoff era with the nation's most dominant program, worrying about what's happening in Baton Rouge and Knoxville does not attract his attention as much as many seem to think.
トピック: Louisiana State University, Academia, Tennessee, SEC, Alabama