Nick Saban took a swipe at the selection criteria for College Football Playoff qualification during Saturday’s edition of ESPN’s College GameDay. Speaking in Austin, Texas ahead of the matchup between No. Ohio State and No. 4 Texas, Saban criticized the heavy reliance on raw win totals.
He argued that the CFP Selection Committee’s preference for this criteria fails to properly account for the quality of opponents teams face.
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“I think that what we’ve created now is a system of how many games you win helps you get into playoffs, and the playoffs become the barometer for the success of your program,” the former Alabama head coach said.
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Saban further stated that the current system discourages athletic departments from scheduling tough September non-conference games.
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“We need a better metric to actually evaluate quality wins and quality losses,” he continued. “Some losses are better than some wins.”
Nick Saban illustrated his point using Texas’ non-conference slate as an example. He questioned whether a competitive loss to Ohio State should be valued higher than a blow-out win against an opponent like Texas State.
“Like last year, Texas lost to Ohio State. Is that better than them beating Texas State?” Saban asked. “I think there’s got to be some metric with the committee that evaluates those things a little better, so we get the best teams in the playoff.”
Nick Saban’s history of criticizing the CFP Selection process
This is not the first time Nick Saban has suggested a departure from the CFP Selection Committee’s current system of evaluation. During a 2024 appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, he suggested that college football adopts the Rating Percentage Index used in college basketball and baseball.
“On the big picture side of it, I just don’t think people are taking enough account into what is your strength of schedule,” Saban told Pat McAfee.
“I think it’s not just, ‘I’m undefeated,’ or ‘I lost one game,'” he added. It’s ‘Who did you lose to? Who did you play? Who did you beat?’ I like the way they do it in basketball, they’ve got this RPI rating… And you beat so many good teams, that means something. Well, we need to do that in football and not just look at the record.”
Saban’s take has since received backlash from fans, with many pointing out his perceived bias for SEC teams. No SEC team has won the national championship since Georgia last won it in 2023.
Edited by Kayode Akinwumi
