Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban took a shot at the Oklahoma football program ahead of the start of the 2024 season. Saban left Alabama before the SEC transitioned into a mega-conference this year.
One of the biggest rivalries in college football is between Oklahoma and Texas. The two former Big 12 schools are set to play their inaugural football season in the SEC, which has always been known as one of the toughest conferences in college football. There could be a steep learning curve for Oklahoma and Texas.
Nick Saban is high on Texas football in the SEC
Saban thinks Texas, who made the College Football Playoff last year, is better prepared to make the leap from the Big 12 than Oklahoma. During an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, Saban said head coach Steve Sarkisian built Texas to be physical like an SEC team.
Per the transcript of Saban’s comments from Sports Illustrated:
“Well, I’ll say this about Texas. Texas was built like an SEC team,” Saban said.“ Sark built Texas like an SEC team. They have big people up front. They’re physical.”
Sarkisian was Saban’s offensive coordinator at Alabama for the 2019-20 seasons. While that might give Saban some bias, Texas finished the 2023 season 12-2. Their only two losses came against Washington in the CFP and Oklahoma during the season.
Saban is worried about Oklahoma football’s physicality
Saban credited Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables (who beat Saban’s Alabama team a few times when he was Clemson’s defensive coordinator) for fielding an athletic team. However, Saban thinks they’ll have a problem in the SEC this season.
“You know, watching Oklahoma this offseason, they are one of the most athletic teams in the country but they are not as big and as physical up front,” Saban said. “I think – this may be a problem for Oregon too. Oregon is going to be extremely skillful but can they match up up front, even in the Big Ten?”
Texas and Oklahoma need time to adjust to the new SEC
Texas and Oklahoma will need time to adjust to the new conference. The Big 12 had good teams but didn’t have the density of quality teams that the SEC will have this year. Most SEC teams will learn the conference is much more challenging this year after the influx of new blue-blood programs
Physicality and athleticism are important, but the true test for Texas and Oklahoma will be how deep their teams are. It’ll be hard for any team to win the SEC this year unless they have the depth to weather rugged terrain as injuries start piling up in conference play.
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