Nick Saban knows a thing or two about college football. He has been around long enough to know a trend when he sees it.
Alabama was at one time a power-running, I-formation boasting offense. Saban saw the dual-threat quarterback trend and ran with it, and he won a few more championships while proving that no good plan should ever be set in stone.
That’s what makes Saban great. He knows how to adapt on the fly.
It’s not surprising to see that he’s already accepted the fact that “mega conferences” are a thing of the here and now. With Texas and Oklahoma eventually heading to the SEC and the Big Ten swooping up USC and UCLA, we are clearly heading towards more of a “big two” rather than a Power Five.
Saban can see it happening and he seems to accept it, but that doesn’t mean he’s without reservations. In fact, speaking to his former quarterback, Greg McElroy, on a podcast, Saban is worried competitive balance could be on the chopping block.
“Some people are going to be capable of doing certain things, other people are not going to be capable. But the bottom line is we’ll lose competitive balance, which everything we’ve always done in college football is to maintain competitive balance,” Saban said, as transcribed by 247Sports. “You’re gonna create more haves and more have-nots. There’ll be less good games.”
Saban is right in that the creation of a “Super Big Ten” or “Super SEC” will only create more of a gap between contenders and pretenders in college football.
Saban is also concerned about a lack of attendance as well, and that dichotomy won’t fill the stands when one team is almost guaranteed a loss.
He brought up the fact that almost every game in the NFL is competitive, no matter who’s on the field.
That’s not the case in college football, and “mega conferences” will only make that worse.
“I don’t know if this is a current stat but in the old days when I was in the league, (that percentage of games) were decided by a touchdown or less,” Saban said. “That creates a lot of fan interest. But that’s my biggest concern about where we’re heading in college football … The haves and the have nots. We’re one of the haves. But I’m still sure that’s not good for college football.”
Saban won’t apologize for being one of the “haves”, because it’s certainly worked out for him and the Crimson Tide. It is noteworthy to see that even he, at the top of the pedestal, has concerns about where college football is heading, though.
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