Alabama Football: Once again, Nick Saban is right

Across the world of college football, both those in media and fans, are quick to proclaim when Nick Saban is wrong. Alabama football fans know Saban is rarely wrong, so we don’t pay undue attention to the negative comments about CFB’s GOAT.

But the persistent negativism can cloud times when Nick Saban is so right, others should pay close attention.

Recently, talking on a podcast with Greg McElroy about the new landscape of college football, Saban repeated his often-stated concerns.

"We don’t have any guardrails on what we’re doing right now. We have no restrictions on who can do what. Some people are going to be capable of doing certain things. Other people are not going to be capableBut the bottom line is we’ll lose competitive balance."

Saban has been widely criticized for making this argument. Detractors claim a big reason CFB has become unbalanced is because of the dominant Alabama football program Saban has built. There is some truth to that, but the flip side is at least another 15-25 FBS programs have the resources to be competitive with Alabama. That so few have actually achieved being competitive with the Crimson Tide is a tribute to Saban’s coaching greatness.

Moving on from that debate, Nick Saban said something more important to McElroy. Not many in other programs agree with Saban, but his concern should be heeded.

"One of my biggest concerns about college football is attendance has gradually fallen off. And I think one of the reasons for that is the quality of games. I mean we probably play three or four games every year our fans don’t really care about coming to see. Well, I don’t really want to play any games that our fans don’t want to come and see."

Alabama Football and SEC Scheduling

Saban’s closing sentence is simple but carries a strong meaning. Paraphrased it is, ‘don’t offer a product consumers don’t want.’

Whether fans like it or not, college football is driven by the brand power of certain teams. It is the brand power that drives eyeballs to screens, which is the equation for conference media deals.

The way to maintain or enhance a brand is to deliver the best product to consumers. Failing to do so in dozens of mismatched games every season, does not enhance college football brands. At risk is those unattractive games can erode brand power – and potentially dampen college football passions.

Several weeks ago, future Alabama football schedules from 2023 and out did not include FCS games. When FCS games were added about three weeks ago, we wrote the new games were a disappointment and an embarrassment.

Given Saban’s clear preference FBS programs should play only other FBS programs – why did it happen? The simple answer is, for too many other programs, making a bowl game matters more than providing fans with a product they value. The result is not enough programs agree with Nick Saban.

Nick Saban is right – again – and almost no one is paying any attention to his concern. That is a mistake for college football.