Nick Saban Rants About Assumed Quality of Opponents
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — It was about time.
On Wednesday evening, Alabama head football coach Nick Saban let loose with his first rant of the 2022 season. When questioned by a reporter regarding how difficult it is to gauge an offense when the quality of opponent varies from week to week, Saban responded with a response that could be almost predicted.
Given that the Crimson Tide are coming off of a 20-19 win at Texas—where it was favored to win by 20-plus points—and the team is heading into a home game against Louisiana-Monroe, Saban did not appreciate the reporter's assumption that the quality of opponent had lessened.
"Well, that's your opinion on quality of opponent," Saban said. "It's not mine. I respect all the people that we play and I respect winning and what you have to do to win. And every player shouldn't be focused on who they're playing against relative to their motivation, but every player should want to be the best player they can be. So why would it matter whether we're playing Texas or playing somebody else? That's how you get good. That's how you develop the right habits. That's how you're consistent."
Saban then transitioned to speaking on his time in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins, providing an example of how talent should be judged based off of one's own skills and work ethic rather than that of an opponent.
"I've told you guys more than once: when I was in the NFL, I watched players [that] I didn't know who they were playing against — I was just evaluating them," Saban said. "So that means when we play a team that's not as good as somebody else, you don't play as good? So you let the opponent determine how you play? You let the score determine how you play? Where you're playing, that determines how you play? So when you get evaluated, what's somebody think? 'Oh this guy plays pretty good at home, I don't think we'll draft him.' Does that make sense?"
Heading into Saturday's game, Alabama is a 49.5-point favorite over ULM, according to SI Sportsbook. Last week, Saban repeatedly addressed the Crimson Tide's status as a 20-point favorite to win the game, citing it even after the team's narrow win in Austin, Texas.
The reiteration by Saban was not to remind fans and the media of Alabama's status as the favorite to win. Rather, it was to address how Texas was an underrated opponent that should not be taken lightly.
Given the slim margin of victory for Alabama, it appears that Saban was correct.
Saban concluded his rant by remarking on how betting odds and evaluating quality of opponents do not mean anything to him, and that he'd rather players prepare each week for the opponent as if they were all the same skill level.
"I respect what it takes to win," Saban said. "Didn't I say this on Monday? What does what you're favored in a game mean when you're favored by 20 points and you lose like two teams did this week? What does it mean? It means the people favoring you either don't know what you're talking about or the players playing got affected by that, [and] neither one of them are good."
