College GameDay is again at the Big Ten this weekend for Indiana's big road matchup against Oregon. The Ducks have a significant opportunity to make another statement in the Big Ten. However, even though College GameDay is visiting the Big Ten, Nick Saban took the time to rip the conference and praise the SEC, saying they were deeper. Still, it's unsurprising, as he's a former Alabama head coach.
Appearing on Friday's episode of “The Pat McAfee Show,” legendary former Alabama head coach Nick Saban discussed his opinion that the Big Ten does not have much depth. He said that Ohio State and Oregon are two great teams, and then Indiana is a third team in consideration for next up. Outside of that, the rest of the conference does not have many great teams.
“I don’t think the Big Ten is that deep,” Saban said. “It’s not like the SEC, where you've got eight or nine teams that can beat you. There might be three or four teams in the Big Ten that can beat you.”
Nick Saban was pushed on his take from McAfee, but he only doubled down.
“Deeper by what? By who?” Saban said in response to a question from AJ Hawk about his take. “I mean, Penn State? I mean, tell me the good teams. Maybe Michigan. Well, we’ll see each other tomorrow (about USC). They’re alright, but alright is not really what I’m talking about. I mean, you think USC is going to beat Ohio State? You think that would be a game if they played, really?”
At the same time, Saban started rattling off a list of SEC teams he thought highly of that could compete with the best in sports.
“You have Oregon, Indiana – legit, so far. And we’ll probably see how legit Indiana is tomorrow,” Saban continued. “Illinois got beat like a redheaded stepchild, down at Indiana, so are they legit? I mean, c’mon. Ohio State is great.
“A&M is pretty good, Georgia is pretty good, Ole Miss is pretty good. Alabama has got a chance. Missouri has got a chance. I mean, there are a lot of good teams. Tennessee is pretty good.”
This argument between the two conferences goes back to the College Football Playoff, conference realignment, and the fact that these are the two biggest conferences in college athletics.
Nick Saban is biased because of his ties to the SEC, but this season, he might not be all that wrong after what we have seen up to the halfway point.
