Nick Saban provides memories coaching against Bobby Petrino

Nick Saban is plenty familiar with Bobby Petrino. The two have faced each other five times throughout their coaching career, including four times from 2008-11 when Petrino was the head coach at Arkansas.

Although Saban and Alabama claimed victory in all of those games, the Crimson Tide coach always appreciated the challenge Petrino presented. With Petrino set to lead Missouri State into Fayetteville for a a matchup against his old team this week, Saban heaped high praise on his game-planning ability.

“I’ve always had a tremendous amount of respect for Bobby,” Saban said on Wednesday’s SEC Coaches’ Teleconference. “He’s a really good offensive coach, always created a lot of issues and problems for you when you had to play against him. Run and pass. He’s one of the – in my opinion – one of the better offensive game-planners out there. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the issues he creates when you play against him.”

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The closest Bobby Petrino ever came to beating Nick Saban was in the 2010 season, when Arkansas blew a 13-point lead over the final two quarters to lose 24-20. Petrino was later fired following the 2011 season, and he and Saban went the next six seasons without playing each other before meeting again in 2018 when Petrino was the coach at Louisville.

The Crimson Tide won that contest in dominant fashion by a score of 51-14.

Bobby Petrino discusses his emotions on return to Arkansas

A game in Fayetteville versus Missouri State wouldn’t normally be highly anticipated but since former Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino leads the Bears, this isn’t just any other SEC versus FCS matchup. The Arkansas Razorbacks fired Petrino a decade ago for cause after a motorcycle accident resulted in the unveiling of an affair with a staffer.

The head coach had the Hogs at No. 3 in the AP Poll and competing in the Cotton Bowl before it all came crashing down. Only now, under Sam Pittman, have the Razorbacks regained their national prominence.

Petrino spoke to reporters about the emotions he may feel when he reenters Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium on Saturday.

“I think we’ll see when we get there, right now what I’m going to do is focus on the week and the preparation and what our players need to do,” Petrino said in his press conference this week. “I’m sure there will be some feelings and emotions when I step into the stadium but it’s really not about me.

“It’s about our football team. We have guys on the team that have worked extremely hard, people that have been here since I first came, guys that we’ve added to it, but since June, we’ve been the same team, dedicated and working hard together.”

On3’s Nikki Chavanelle contributed to this report.