re: Which Program Benefits Most From Saban's Retirement?

I think people are not really respecting how much more random championships are apt to be in the expanded playoff era. Having the best roster is going to work out most of the time, just like it does in the regular season. Still, more games means more chances to run into bad matchups on a bad day.

2012 Alabama was probably the best overall team of the Saban era but they had one bad day against a very good but not championship caliber team with an offense that created some mismatch problems. Now that stuff is more likely to happen in the playoffs. Yes, your school's team is probably better 7 out of 10 times against this opponent but they do mismatch you in a few spots and your players are exhausted from the prior week's game.

Also, the normal stuff like more opportunities to catch bad college officiating working against you that week and injuries.

I wouldn't be surprised if Smart ends up matching or pass Saban in titles. I wouldn't be surprised if Georgia only wins 1 or 2 more with Smart.