Nick Saban weighs in on the College Football Playoffs

What happened in this episode?

In this short clip, Theo Von asks former Alabama head coach Nick Saban what he thinks should change about the College Football Playoff after a season Von describes as ‘wonky’. Saban argues that fans primarily want the best teams included, and says that the sport’s move to a 12-team playoff required doing what was ‘politically correct’ by including schools outside the power conferences.

Saban then pivots to the mechanics of selection, contending that current measures do not adequately account for strength of schedule. He recounts a question raised at SEC meetings: if a team (in his example, Texas) schedules a top opponent (Ohio State) and finishes with more losses, would it have been better positioned for CFP selection had it instead scheduled a weaker programme and finished with a better record. Saban says decision-makers struggled to answer, which he takes as evidence that existing metrics are insufficient.

He argues selection discussions too often centre on raw win totals without properly weighting the difficulty of opponents—particularly in conferences where top teams regularly play each other. As a comparison, Saban points to college basketball’s tournament-selection approach, describing a more tiered system that rewards wins over highly ranked opponents and provides little benefit for playing teams outside the top 50.

What are the key points?

• Saban says fans want to see the ‘best 12 teams’ in the CFP.
• He argues the 12-team expansion included non-power conference schools for ‘politically correct’ reasons.
• Saban says CFP selection needs ‘better metrics’ to assess strength of schedule.
• He cites an SEC-meetings hypothetical about whether scheduling an easier opponent would improve playoff chances.
• Saban argues focusing on total wins can undervalue teams that play tougher conference schedules.
• He says basketball’s tournament system better rewards wins over top opponents and discourages weak scheduling.

Who is speaking?

Named speakers identified in Egleze's source-linked moments from this episode.

• Nick Saban

Which topics are covered?

How is this page sourced?

Programme

Theo Von

Published

11 October 2026

Duration

2m

Original episode

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