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Nick Saban suggested a new scheduling model for college football on top of the nine-game SEC schedule set to take effect this year. He wants Power Four conferences playing 12-game schedules against Power opponents only.
Gone are the Group of Five contests against the likes of the SEC and Big Ten powers. While G5 schools can compete for the CFP, the P4 schools will, basically, play in a league of their own.
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Why does Saban say this? Well, it’s a business. College football, television, fans; it’s a money-making business and entertainment product.
“Well, I’ve been a proponent for 10 years, so it only took us 10 years to get to this (nine-game SEC schedule),” Saban said on SEC Network Wednesday. “You know, first of all, players love to play in competitive games. Second, fans love to see competitive games. That’s number two. And I also think that it’s important that you give even a better opportunity to prove that you’re the best team, that you belong in the SEC championship game.
“So I actually think we should play 12 games against Power (Four). That’s it. Because it’s a business, and people want to see those games. TV wants to have that kind of inventory to show those games. So I think that’s really, really important. And I’m glad that we’ve gone to a nine-game schedule. I think it’ll be more interesting for the players and the fans.”
Nick Saban in favor of 12 Power Four games for schedules
Saban, since he’s away from coaching Alabama a few years now, has a different perspective when it comes to the nine-game schedule. To be fair, he was a proponent of the SEC doing this over a decade ago.
But, coaches like Texas A&M’s Mike Elko and Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitztook some shots at the new schedule. It only makes the path to the CFP more difficult for these teams, in their mind. Never mind the fact that it could be entirely more difficult if it came to a 12-game P4 slate for all teams involved.
“When I distinctly remember last year being in the SEC meetings when we were discussing the eight- to nine-game scenario, and we were being told that if we didn’t vote to go to a nine-game, then the playoffs wouldn’t expand, and so we made that decision. But in hindsight, we did not recognize, or I didn’t recognize, that (the Big Ten) didn’t play an A4 [autonomous four] game,” Drinkwitz said.
So what’s the solution? Expanded playoff to level out the playing field? Saban’s idea? The schedule for these Power Four institutions are surely subject to change in the coming years, especially if the CFP grows.
