Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sport
Pat Forde

Sorry Saban, but Alabama Doesn’t Deserve a Playoff Bid

Alabama was desperate. Alabama was brazen. Alabama was so desperate and brazen that it turned Nick Saban into a Saturday night lobbyist, sending him on media rounds to coach up America on why his Crimson Tide deserve to be in the College Football Playoff.

Have you ever seen a GOAT grovel on live TV? It was a bit jarring to behold.

“If we played any of those teams that are on the edge of getting in, would we be the underdogs or the favorite?” Saban asked on Fox at halftime of the Big Ten championship game—a provocative pulpit to give an SEC coach to take what sounded like a shot at Ohio State, among others. “You show vulnerability when you get beat badly at the end of the season. We played better at the end of the season.”

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.