As usual, Nick Saban spoke the truth on Friday. And as usual, some fans weren't happy about it. Go figure.
In his normal Friday appearance on the Pat McAfee show ahead of College GameDay this weekend, Saban criticized the depth of the Big Ten and stated emphatically that it couldn't hold up team-for-team with the SEC.
NEW: Nick Saban criticizes multiple Big Ten teams while claiming the SEC is deeper:
— On3 (@On3sports) October 10, 2025
"I don't think the Big Ten is really that deep... It's not like the SEC where you got eight or nine teams that can beat you… . I mean, Penn State? I mean, tell me the good teams. Maybe Michigan.… pic.twitter.com/aai5vtb3qo
Predictably, fans from the second-best conference in the country got up in their feelings over it.
LOL 😂 nearly every SEC has taken a step backwards. Nearly every B1G team has taken a step forward.
— Johnny Lawrence Jr (@AmericanGr8ness) October 10, 2025
Tell how good South Carolina, Florida, Texas, LSU or Georgia are. all are pretty mid
He’s mad the SEC has lost its strength since everyone else is now paying players
— ClutchCityCoog (The Voice of Houston) (@htownsportsnow) October 10, 2025
— Dale (@DaleGriddy) October 10, 2025
Of course, everyone's favorite excuse of the SEC's dominance being gone because everyone can pay players now has entered the chat. A foolish, brain-dead argument. Everyone was paying players long before it was legal - not just the SEC.
Plenty more rushed to do discuss Ohio State and Michigan winning the last two National Championships, which, you know, is exactly his point. Quick - name the last Big Ten team not named Ohio State or Michigan to win the National Championship. I'll wait.
*Jeopardy music continues to play*
Do you give up?
If you're talking about current members, it's USC in 2004. Of course, USC was a PAC-12 member in 2004 so that only sorta counts. How about a team outside of Ohio State and Michigan that won the National Championship as members of the Big Ten? Hop in your time machines all the way back to 1986 when Penn State won it all.
The best of the best in the Big Ten - this year being Ohio State, Oregon, and maybe Indiana, can absolutely compete with the best of the SEC. There's no argument there. But week-to-week, the grind is different. Saban knows it. And Big Ten fans know it, too, even if they won't admit it.
Comparing Alabama and Ohio State's schedules further proves Saban's point
Take a look at the conference schedules that Alabama and Ohio State are playing this year. It'll tell you all you need to know.
The Buckeyes have so far played two conference games: at Washington and at home vs. Minnesota. They'll face a ranked Illinois on the road this week, and then won't face another team currently ranked in the AP Top 25 until The Game in late November.
Big Ten fans love to talk about SEC teams playing weak out-of-conference opponents in November, but will ignore that in November, Ohio State plays this three-week stretch before Michigan: at Purdue, vs. UCLA, vs. Rutgers. A gauntlet, that.
Contrast that to Alabama's conference schedule, where the Crimson Tide has played back-to-back ranked opponents to open up SEC play in Georgia and Vanderbilt. They'll play another this week on the road against undefeated Missouri. Another awaits next week with Tennessee coming to Tuscaloosa.
In total, Alabama will play six of their eight conference games against opponents that are currently ranked in the AP Top 25. The schedules 100% do not compare.
Ohio State is a great team. So is Oregon. But they have a much easier path to the College Football Playoff than any of the SEC's contenders. That's not an opinion. It's a fact.
And it's a fact that the College Football Playoff committee needs to remember in December when it comes time to select the field and rank the teams.