Nick Saban slanders multiple Big Ten teams while diminishing the league's depth

‘College GameDay’ is in Eugene, Oregon, this weekend for the highest-ranked matchup of the day with No. 7 Indiana vs. No. 3 Oregon in a conference matchup in the Big Ten. However, that didn’t stop Nick Saban from questioning or criticizing that conference, as compared to the SEC.

Appearing on ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ on Friday, Saban wondered how deep the conference really is with the Big Ten. He sees two teams who definitely are legitimate in Ohio State and Oregon, with a third under consideration in Indiana, which could change by tomorrow when it plays on the road against the Ducks. But for the rest of the league, its standings are filled with good or just alright teams.

“I don’t think the Big Ten is really that deep,” Saban said. “It’s not like the SEC where you got eight or nine teams that can beat you. There might be three or four teams in the Big Ten that can beat you.”

Saban was pushed on his take. But he doubled down.

“Deeper by what? By who?” Saban said in response to questioning of his take by AJ Hawk. “I mean, Penn State? I mean, tell me the good teams. Maybe Michigan. Well, we’ll see 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?”

Again, Saban couldn’t name more than a handful of teams that he thought highly of in the Big Ten. Meanwhile, he began rattling off ones who he thought could be at least in that conversation out of the SEC.

“You have Oregon, Indiana – legit, so far. And we’ll see how legit Indiana is probably tomorrow,” Saban continued. “I mean, Illinois got beat like a redheaded stepchild, you know, 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’s a lot of good teams. Tennessee is pretty good.”

This is the latest piece in an ongoing debate about the two top conferences in collegiate sports, namely in college football, in the Big Ten and the Southeastern Conference. That has seen a shift over the past few years as, after the SEC won 13 of 17 national titles from 2006 to 2022, the Big Ten has now won each of the last two.

Now, with as much parity as there is nationally this year so far, the SEC and Big Ten have the most title contenders in the country to this point. When looking at the AP Poll, the Big Ten has five teams in the Top 25, with three in the Top 10. The SEC has nine in the Top 20, with eight of those being in the Top 15.

One could, while knowing where the last two national championships in the sport reside, talk round and round in this conversation. Saban was just the latest to do so, with him still favoring the overall depth he sees more so in the SEC.