Big 12 Conference trolls ESPN’s Nick Saban after he takes a shot at the conference
You can take Nick Saban out of the SEC, but you can’t take the SEC out of Nick Saban. This was evident again this week when the former Alabama and LSU head coach, a seven-time national champion, took aim at the Big 12 Conference while defending the playoff case for SEC team Ole Miss. The Big 12, however, did not take his comments lightly.
During an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show on ESPN on Wednesday, Saban expressed his views on the College Football Playoff race, once again revealing his SEC bias.
“But the subjective part of this that can never be fixed,” he noted, “is that the conferences are not equal. They differ in both the depth of good teams and the quality of their best teams.
“For instance, let’s take Ole Miss so I can steer clear of the Alabama discussion. If Ole Miss were in the Big 12, what would their record be? This is the type of subjective issue in college football that won’t change unless we gather the top 40 teams and create a league similar to the 32 teams in the NFL. Then, the level of competition would be more balanced, allowing for a true measurement of success against good teams since you’d be facing them consistently.”
It’s no shock that Saban is promoting the SEC, given that it’s the conference where he enjoyed his most significant success as a head coach. Additionally, he’s currently working for ESPN, which holds the broadcasting rights for the SEC.
What could be surprising, however, is the Big 12’s response to this slight. Instead of brushing it off, the conference issued a revealing social media post on X highlighting Ole Miss’s recent challenges against Big 12 teams in postseason play.
The post highlighted Ole Miss’ recent bowl game results against Big 12 teams, showcasing that the Rebels not only suffered losses but were also heavily defeated in each matchup.
In the 2014 Peach Bowl, the No. 9 Rebels fell to No. 6 TCU with a score of 42-3. More recently, in January 2022, No. 8 Ole Miss was defeated 21-7 by No. 7 Baylor in the Sugar Bowl. In December 2022, they lost to Texas Tech 42-25 in the Texas Bowl.
The Big 12’s post emphasized all three of these games, but the ribbing didn’t end there.
They used an image of Nick Saban wearing a Miami Dolphins shirt, alluding to his unsuccessful tenure as head coach of the NFL team, where he went 15-17 over parts of two seasons (2005-06).
Saban’s comments reveal his clear bias for the SEC. He conveniently overlooks the fact that, like in previous years, Ole Miss entered the season with plenty of talent but failed to utilize it, losing to unranked teams like Kentucky, Florida, and LSU. None of these teams has more than seven wins in 2024.
This raises a more pertinent question: instead of speculating about Ole Miss’ potential record in the Big 12, it’s worth considering which underdog teams they would have likely lost to in that conference, as the Rebels are known for dropping games they should win.
As for Saban, he has become just another part of the ESPN apparatus, which consistently promotes the SEC at all costs. This has diminished his credibility, turning him into a spokesperson for a network that lost its impartiality long ago.
Fortunately, the Big 12 leadership is pushing back against the narrative that it’s an inferior conference. Previously, the conference seemed willing to accept a lower status, but now Commissioner Brett Yormark and his team are committed to challenging the common perceptions pushed by the media.
So, even if a figure like Nick Saban wants to criticize the Big 12, he should be prepared for a rebuttal, as the conference will no longer tolerate disparaging remarks from anyone.
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