Nick Saban explains not picking Alabama to play in SEC Championship game

Nick Saban doesn’t think Alabama is going to be in the SEC Championship game this season. Well, at least that’s what he wants you to think.

On paper, Saban and the rest of the analysts on hand at SEC Media Days were tasked with predicting the two teams that would end up playing for the SEC Championship at the end of the regular season. To many’s surprise, the longtime Alabama head coach doesn’t have the Crimson Tide making the conference title game.

“I picked Georgia and Texas (in the SEC), but as a coach, I never wanted to get picked to win the SEC,” Saban explained. “The players that are out there disappointed in me for not picking Alabama? It’s because I never picked Alabama.”

Is Saban serious? Fellow analyst and former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy said it’s just a little bit of inverted rat poison.

“That’s all it is,” McElroy said.

While the margin for error is certainly a bit larger for the Crimson Tide regarding the College Football Playoff’s new 12-team playoff format, the same cannot be said for the SEC Championship game. With Oklahoma and Texas coming into the conference having combined for a 22-5 record in 2023, not to mention other conference opponents like Ole Miss, Georgia, LSU and more that could potentially contend for the conference title at the end of the season.

However, there are those that feel like there won’t be a drop-off between the transition from Saban’s leadership to DeBoer’s. While Alabama lost some pieces to the transfer portal after Saban announced his retirement, many still remain on the roster and DeBoer appears to have covered his bases the added additions that joined the program this offseason.

After all, the first-year Crimson Tide coach has a 104-12 record as a head coach across all levels and has three NAIA National Championships to his credit, winning them in a four-year span between 2006-2009. After multiple stops throughout the Division I level, he became a head coach again in 2020 and coached Fresno State to a 9-3 season in 2021 before moving on to the success he enjoyed Washington.

He’ll look to continue that same success this fall in Tuscaloosa. Alabama kicks off the Kalen DeBoer era against Western Kentucky during Week 1 on Aug. 31 before matching with the likes of Wisconsin on the road and a blockbuster meeting against Georgia at home before Week 5. A win against the Bulldogs could go a long way in the Tide’s SEC title hunt.