Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban warns Texas and Oklahoma about the obstacles of SEC competition, while also discussing the new 12-team CFP structure.
This year’s SEC Media Days stands out from the crowd for a variety of reasons.
One is that the conference attracted former Big 12 standouts Texas and Oklahoma.
Former Alabama head football coach Nick Saban has begun a career as an analyst since his shocking resignation on January 10, and he remarked about the SEC’s two new clubs on Monday, claiming that the competitiveness is vastly different in this conference.
“Well I think they’re two great programs, so anytime you add two really good teams that will be mixed throughout people’s schedules, but I think for the big for them is they’re going to have to play with more consistency and performance because they’ll be playing a more difficult schedule,” he said. “There’s going to be a premium on ‘Can they play good teams week in and week out’ because that’s always the challenge in the SEC.”
For decades, Texas has been loud about Longhorn culture. Texas is coming off its finest season since 2009, finishing 12-2 with a defeat to Washington in the College Football Playoff semifinal.
Saban acknowledged Texas’ confidence over the years, which appears to be near an all-time high right now. The seven-time National Champion, whose first at Alabama (second overall) came against Texas during the aforementioned 2009 season, told the Longhorns that the SEC isn’t theirs just yet.
“What tickles me is how (the media) is asking these questions about how Texas has always run the conference they were in…they’re not going to run the SEC,” he remarked. “There are a lot of areas and places in the SEC, so forget about it. “They’ll be a great team with a great program, and (head coach Steve Sarkisian) will do an excellent job, but that won’t be an issue.”
In the last two seasons, the Crimson Tide and Texas have played a home-and-home series, with the away side winning each game. Alabama won 20-19 on September 10, 2022, while Texas won 34-24 on September 9, 2023.
These two teams will not play each other during the 2017 regular season, but they may face off in the College Football Playoff’s new 12-team structure, which was a four-team landscape for the first ten years following the BCS era. Saban discussed the new structure on Monday as well, but made some suggestions for how coaches should handle it.
“I’m all for the 12-team playoff,” Saban stated. “I believe fans want to watch the greatest twelve teams. You may be ranked 11th or 12th and get shoved out by someone who isn’t in the top-12, which I don’t like, but the coaches’ main concern this year is how much depth your team has. How are you going to manage your club through more games, a more difficult schedule in most cases, and maintain performance such that at the conclusion of the season in November and December, you’re playing your best football and staying in the playoffs? That will be the most difficult obstacle, I believe, for most coaches.
However, coaches can only do so much because the players are the ones who wear the numbers on the field. The increase in the number of Playoff places means that there are several more legitimate contenders to begin the season. Saban emphasized that coaches should teach their athletes early on that they must be prepared for a longer season.
“I think the maturity of your team is important because younger players have a more difficult time of sustaining focus,” Saban told reporters. “So if you have an older and more experienced team that understands how to take care of themselves and get through the season, you’re going to have a better chance of sustaining in my opinion.”
Saban has always spoken openly about the value of leadership in players. He explained how the new College Football Playoff model will require greater team discipline throughout the season, and how captains will need to stay on top of their teammates.
“People talk about leadership, but the other side of leadership is how do the people on the team respond to that—are guys really going to bed early at night, are they eating right, are they hydrating right, are they practicing the right way so they make consistent improvement—all those things are going to have a lot to do with how you maintain your performance throughout the season,” he said.
