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Nick Saban has long been an advocate of the SEC moving to a 9-game schedule and filling the other three schedule slots with Power 5 opponents, but Alabama's schedule has come under fire this season for its overall softness, notably from Fox Sports analyst Colin Cowherd among other national pundits.
Saban responded to Cowherd and others who have down the Crimson Tide's 2019 slate during this week's stop in Bristol, Conn. at ESPN HQ.
“I think the culture of college football would benefit if we said Power 5 teams have to play all Power 5 teams. I’ve been an advocate of this for several years,” Saban said during an appearance on ESPN’s Golic and Wingo show. “I’ve been an advocate of playing more SEC games. Well, I think you should do it like basketball, they have RPI, or whatever it’s called. And basketball says these are the teams that played the best schedule and won the biggest games. So that’s how you qualify for a bowl game, not how many games you win. So that it would be better for fans, it would be better for fan interest.
“So we’ve tried to schedule two opponents — Power Five opponents — every year. We have one time in the next 10 years, we’ve succeeded at doing that. So unless we change the culture of how we all agree to schedule, I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
Cowherd on Monday pointed to Alabama's schedule, arguably the program's most favorable in Saban's tenure, as an example this week on why fan support is diminishing on Saturdays throughout the sport during non-conference action.
“Look at Alabama’s schedule, the four games Alabama could control because the SEC hands out the schedule,” Cowherd said on The Herd. “They scheduled Duke, New Mexico State, Southern Miss and Western Carolina. I wouldn’t walk across the street to watch those games. And Nick Saban controls that. He doesn’t control the other eight, but he controls those four.
"Saban complains, 'the students aren’t coming out.’ Yeah, because they have a life. There’s options. There’s a bunch of stuff on TV and on their phones. Stop blaming the fans.”
Alabama hasn't lost a non-conference game during the regular season since falling to Louisiana Monroe during Saban's first year in 2007. The Crimson Tide has often played in made-for-TV opening weekend showdowns at neutral sites vs. Top 25 competition and won them all, but the rest of the non-conference schedule lacks, Cowherd says.
“College football coaches — schedule better games,” Cowherd said. “Stop with the 3 and 4 layups. Nobody wants to watch 55-14. It’s a rip-off for fans and I love college football. Yes, the technology doesn't help your case, but I see hockey arenas jammed. Those tickets are twice as much as yours.
"Duke, you can’t get a ticket to watch Zion (Williamson) play last year. What I see are empty seats in college football stadiums in these awful, wasted Saturdays when you’ve scheduled Panera Bread and roast beef tech. Western Carolina. Stop with the directional schools."
What Cowherd fails to mention is the level of difficulty it takes to schedule non-conference games vs. Power 5 opponents, especially when you're the Crimson Tide.
Saban responded to Cowherd and others who have down the Crimson Tide's 2019 slate during this week's stop in Bristol, Conn. at ESPN HQ.
“I think the culture of college football would benefit if we said Power 5 teams have to play all Power 5 teams. I’ve been an advocate of this for several years,” Saban said during an appearance on ESPN’s Golic and Wingo show. “I’ve been an advocate of playing more SEC games. Well, I think you should do it like basketball, they have RPI, or whatever it’s called. And basketball says these are the teams that played the best schedule and won the biggest games. So that’s how you qualify for a bowl game, not how many games you win. So that it would be better for fans, it would be better for fan interest.
“So we’ve tried to schedule two opponents — Power Five opponents — every year. We have one time in the next 10 years, we’ve succeeded at doing that. So unless we change the culture of how we all agree to schedule, I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
Cowherd on Monday pointed to Alabama's schedule, arguably the program's most favorable in Saban's tenure, as an example this week on why fan support is diminishing on Saturdays throughout the sport during non-conference action.
“Look at Alabama’s schedule, the four games Alabama could control because the SEC hands out the schedule,” Cowherd said on The Herd. “They scheduled Duke, New Mexico State, Southern Miss and Western Carolina. I wouldn’t walk across the street to watch those games. And Nick Saban controls that. He doesn’t control the other eight, but he controls those four.
"Saban complains, 'the students aren’t coming out.’ Yeah, because they have a life. There’s options. There’s a bunch of stuff on TV and on their phones. Stop blaming the fans.”
Alabama hasn't lost a non-conference game during the regular season since falling to Louisiana Monroe during Saban's first year in 2007. The Crimson Tide has often played in made-for-TV opening weekend showdowns at neutral sites vs. Top 25 competition and won them all, but the rest of the non-conference schedule lacks, Cowherd says.
“College football coaches — schedule better games,” Cowherd said. “Stop with the 3 and 4 layups. Nobody wants to watch 55-14. It’s a rip-off for fans and I love college football. Yes, the technology doesn't help your case, but I see hockey arenas jammed. Those tickets are twice as much as yours.
"Duke, you can’t get a ticket to watch Zion (Williamson) play last year. What I see are empty seats in college football stadiums in these awful, wasted Saturdays when you’ve scheduled Panera Bread and roast beef tech. Western Carolina. Stop with the directional schools."
What Cowherd fails to mention is the level of difficulty it takes to schedule non-conference games vs. Power 5 opponents, especially when you're the Crimson Tide.
