Nick Saban Identifies Two Historic Powerhouses as College Football’s Best Teams

Two SEC programs drew the former Alabama coach's endorsement on Thursday morning, though he attached a warning about July predictions stemming from a painful 2019 memory

Former Alabama Crimson Tide coach and ESPN College GameDay analyst Nick Saban put the spotlight on two SEC programs he believes are the game's best entering 2026. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

ESPN college football analyst Nick Saban isn't known for handing out compliments often. That makes what the former Alabama head coach said Thursday morning on ESPN's Get Up worth reading twice.

Sitting down with host Mike Greenberg, the seven-time national champion picked Georgia and Texas as the two best teams in college football right now. Both have title expectations. The Bulldogs last won a title in 2022 and you have to go all the way back to 2005 for the Longhorns' last championship.

Saban's choice to highlight these two schools comes a couple of weeks before preseason camps open, and it lines up with what most computer models and preseason polls have said all summer.

What Nick Saban said about Georgia, Texas on Get Up

Greeny set it up by noting Georgia is the two-time defending SEC champion, while plenty of people have picked Texas. This led Saban to lay out his preseason favorites.

"Well, I think Texas and Georgia on paper, at least right now. But in July, nobody really knows what might happen in the season," Saban said.

"One of our best teams was in 2019, when Tua broke his hip the 10th or 11th game of the season. We didn't even get in the playoffs, but that was one of the best teams we ever had.

"So you really don't know what's going to happen during the season and how you're going to be able to overcome those obstacles that you might have to overcome. I think right now on paper, those two teams are the best teams based on what they have coming back and what they've added to their roster."

The 2019 reference matters. That Alabama team lost quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to a hip injury and missed the playoff entirely. Saban is telling you the pick is real and also telling you it means very little in July.

He said something similar in 2024, when he picked Georgia and Texas to meet in the SEC Championship Game. They did, in December of that season. Georgia won in overtime. Saban has now made this same pairing twice.

Arch Manning, Colin Simmons seek redemption

Texas entered 2025 as the consensus preseason No. 1 team, then lost to Ohio State, Florida and Georgia and missed the College Football Playoff, finishing 10-3 after a Citrus Bowl win over Michigan. That is the résumé Saban is looking past.

Arch Manning is back for his junior year. He threw for 3,163 yards and 26 touchdowns in 2025 while completing 61.3 percent of his passes. He finished 17th in ESPN's QBR and 14th in PFF's grading, with real highs and puzzling lows against teams like UTEP and Kentucky. Something changed in November, though, when the New Orleans native flipped a switch and started playing like the player everyone expected.

Texas quarterback Arch Manning (16) is the face of the program, but make no mistake, the Longhorns are loaded on both sides of the ball. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The supporting cast is better this time. Three offensive line starters return, including left tackle Trevor Goosby, and Texas added multi-year starters Melvin Siani at tackle and Laurence Seymore at guard. Wide receiver Cam Coleman, linebacker Rasheem Biles and running backs Raleek Brown and Hollywood Smothers all arrived through the portal.

Edge rusher Colin Simmons is the defensive anchor. He led the Longhorns with 12 sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss in 2025. New defensive coordinator Will Muschamp wants an aggressive, man-coverage-heavy scheme, and the open question is whether the cornerbacks can hold up in single coverage.

Gunner Stockton vs. the world

Georgia won its second straight SEC championship last season before losing to Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl quarterfinal. Gunner Stockton returns, and the Rabun County product started all 14 games, threw for 2,894 yards and 24 touchdowns, added 462 rushing yards and 10 scores, and was named SEC Championship Game MVP.

The problem last year was who he threw to. Six of Georgia's top seven pass-catchers from last season are gone, with only London Humphreys returning at wideout and expectations higher than ever for tight end Luckie Lawson.

The Bulldogs added Georgia Tech wide receiver Isiah Canion, Auburn defensive lineman Amaris Williams and USC cornerback Braylon Conley in the portal. Georgia brought in only eight transfers, the fewest in the SEC, but ranked sixth by average player rating.

Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton often willed the Bulldogs to clutch wins a year ago, but he will need more from the defense to keep opponents honest. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The defense needs work too, as Georgia ranked 122nd nationally in tackles for loss last season and struggled to sack the quarterback. Pass rush and a stout defensive line have been strengths for Georgia's defenses in the Kirby Smart era. They need to get back to that.

That said, Smart's defense has plenty of stars like safety KJ Bolden and cornerback Ellis Robinson IV. The Bulldogs need better play at the point of attack in the trenches and will be looking for bigger contributions from defensive tackle Elijah Griffin.

Georgia and Texas do not play each other in the regular season this year. The only way this matchup happens is in Atlanta or in the playoffs, which is probably what Saban had in mind.