Nick Saban isn’t buying into the growing narrative that the Big Ten has overtaken the SEC as college football’s premier conference.
Speaking during SEC Media Days on July 23, the former Alabama head coach pushed back on claims that the Big Ten now sits on top after winning the last three College Football Playoff national championships.
“I think the only reason people are talking about this is (the SEC) dominated for so long, and we were so good, everybody makes a big deal out of being able to beat us. That doesn’t mean they’re better than us, and that doesn’t mean that just because you win the championship that you have a better conference. It just means you have one better team,” Saban said.
His remarks quickly spread across social media after On3 shared it on X, where fans offered sharply divided opinions on whether the SEC still deserves to be considered college football’s top conference.
One fan didn’t hold back, writing: “Someone is salty and delusional. The tides have changed, the Big10 is the premier league.”
Another wrote, “The more they double down the more foolish they seem. SEC has underperformed out of conference during the NIL era.”
“Last three CFP finals have not had a single SEC school. It’s not crazy to say the Big Ten is stronger right now,” one wrote.
“It hasn’t been just one better team though. The Big Ten has dominated the SEC across the board during the NIL era,” another wrote.
Not everyone opposed Saban’s view.
“The number of SEC players in last year’s draft proves his point,” one wrote.
Another frustrated fan wrote, “Literally every aspect of college football is broken. Starting to be hard to watch.”
Nick Saban Still Believes Georgia and Texas Lead the Pack
Despite defending the SEC as a conference, Saban also shared his outlook for the 2026 season by identifying two teams he believes stand above the rest.
Appearing on ESPN’s Get Up, Saban named Georgia and Texas as the nation’s top teams heading into preseason camp.
“Well, I think Texas and Georgia on paper, at least right now. But in July, nobody really knows what might happen in the season,” Saban said.
“One of our best teams was in 2019, when Tua broke his hip in the 10th or 11th game of the season. We didn’t even get in the playoffs, but that was one of the best teams we ever had. So you really don’t know what’s going to happen during the season and how you’re going to be able to overcome those obstacles that you might have to overcome. I think right now on paper, those two teams are the best teams based on what they have coming back and what they’ve added to their roster.”
Whether Saban’s defense of the SEC proves accurate remains to be seen, but judging by the reaction online, the debate between the SEC and Big Ten is far from over.
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