The Big 12 Conference wasn't amused by Nick Saban's appearance on The MacAfee Show, and responded with a statement of its own.
Saban argued conferences aren't equal and questioned whether a team like Ole Miss would have a better record in the Big 12. The conference responded through its official X account, posting the Rebels' result in three of their latest bowl games against Big 12 teams with the caption "Undefeated in hypothetical games".
The results are from the 2014 Peach Bowl (TCU 42-3 Ole Miss), 2022 Sugar Bowl (Baylor 21-7 Ole Miss) and 2022 Texas Bowl (Texas Tech 42-25 Ole Miss). To be fair, the Rebels did beat Oklahoma State 40-20 in the 2016 Sugar Bowl.
Saban: Conferences are not equal
During his appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Saban pointed to the subjective nature of judging college football teams, something bound to happen with over 130 football programs. However, the former head coach did seem to take a jab at the conference.
"Conferences are not equal. They are not equal in depth of good teams nor are they equal in the quality of the best teams... If Ole Miss played in the Big 12, what would their record be?"
To his credit, Saban, a former head coach at two SEC programs in LSU and Alabama, also mentioned inconsistency at Alabama and Ole Miss as the reason both schools are on the bubble for the playoff.
"Consistency and performance mean something, and that's why in Ole Miss' and Alabama's case, they didn't have the consistency and performance. They lost to teams they probably shouldn't have lost to and there shpuld be a penalty for that as well"
Conference strength, a contentious topic
With the expanded 12-team playoff, strength of conference, strength of schedule and strength of record have gained importance and created ample debate. The SEC has been regarded as the top conference in college football for most of the past 2 decades, with 12 championships since 2006 and four of the last five titles.
However, with only three teams with less than 3 losses at this point in the season, it's becoming apparent that the SEC will have no more than those three schools in the CFP. According to the latest rankings, Texas (2) and Georgia (7) and Tennessee (8) would be in, while Alabama (13) would be on the outside looking in.
To make matters worse for the Crimson Tide, they would have to make up an extra spot, as the CFP rules indicate that the top five conference champions are guaranteed a berth. Currently, the fifth-highest ranked conference leader would come from the Big 12 (Arizona State).
This season, the Big 12 and SEC have squared off four times with two wins apiece. While Arizona State beat Mississippi State 30-23 on September 7th, the other 3 games between the conferences matched teams outside CFP contention. This makes it hard to gauge a real comparison from top teams in each conference.
Big 12 vs. SEC feud about more than CFP
Regardless of what happens in the CFP, the relationship between the Big 12 and SEC has been a tense one, as multiple teams have left the former conference for "greener pastures" in the Southeast.
In 2011, Missouri and Texas A&M joined the SEC after Colorado (Pac 12) and Nebraska (Big Ten) had also left the Big 12, leaving the conference in an uncertain status.
In the next round of power conference realignment, the SEC got the two biggest programs in the Big 12, snatching away Texas and Oklahoma. While the conference was able to survive and even attract some football programs on the rise, losing such large schools in the last 13 years has left a dent, both on and off the field.
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