Overview

• During his Friday appearance on The Pat McAfee Show in Eugene, Nick Saban said the Big Ten has only three or four teams that can beat you compared with eight or nine in the SEC.
• Saban labeled Ohio State and Oregon as great and called Indiana legit so far, while casting doubt on Penn State, USC and Illinois.
• He highlighted Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss, Missouri, Texas A&M and Tennessee as evidence of broader SEC depth.
• Coverage noted the comments as part of the ongoing SEC–Big Ten strength debate, with several outlets disputing his characterization by pointing to analytics such as ESPN’s SP+.
• Analysts suggested the question will be answered on the field through upcoming games and the College Football Playoff, and no clarification or retraction from Saban has been reported.