re: Can Saban go 10-2 at Bama in 2008?

Nuts chimes in on this ridiculous topic.....

<<Saban was unlucky to go 7-6,



Disagree.

He was handed the Arkie game on a horrendous call by the officials and injuries to McFadden and Jones on Arkie's crucial last drive to try to run out the clock with a 4-point lead. He barely escaped against Houston, Ole Miss and Colorado, too. He was, frankly, just as lucky not to lose at least two of those games as he was unlucky to lose any game all year.

His losses were all pretty close, but in most of them, his team was outplayed and only managed to stay close because of large inequities in penalties and/or turnovers, especially the LSU game. About the only ones you could validly argue he was unlucky to lose were Mississippi State and ULM.
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And then BT drops them with the truth.

To further expand on this response, Bama completely tanked after the LSU game, not because they gave up, but because they were exposed.

And while he was unlucky to lose to MSU and ULM, he had no business beating Arkansas. Saban can be counted on losing a game he has no business losing at least once a year.

Furthermore, the Indy Bowl proved to us Tiger fans yet again that Saban, even when he has more talent, simply plays not to lose.

Bama will sell out to win either the Clemson or the UGA game. When he gets smacked in Atlanta and UGA pounds them in Athens, don't be surprised if Bama is sitting with 3 losses on their record before the end of September. Even with the easy schedule, 6-6 or 7-5 looks about the best Bama can do this year. If Saban could pull a 8-4 I'd be shocked.

While Saban has lost 3 games or more 14 out of 15 years as a head coach, everyone in the bubbagump state wants to state if he could win a NC at LSU, he'll win one at Bama.

Just remember what fell our way when LSU went 13-1:

A really weak non SEC slate (thanks to Arizona being down)

A Bama team suffering on probation;
A 7-5 Auburn team in chaos at the end of the year
A Zook coached UF team (who still beat us)
A unravelling USC squad;
A down year for MSU, and Arkansas.

Hell even Ole Miss was better than the above.

His 2004 team was exposed early and often and was ripped to shreads by Richt the second time around.

That wonderful offense, headed by the wild imagination of Jimbo and Nick, stunk against Auburn, UGA and Iowa.

Hell the defense collapsed as well especially against an Iowa team Les Miles probably would have destroyed.

Nothing has changed- with Bama's talent and Saban's coaching methodology-so why think Saban will improve Bama's bottom line?


Saban is an adequate game day coach. Many in the SEC are simply better in other categories. For example. many )whom I believe) at the LSU Operations Center say that Les Miles is a better planner than Saban. And I agree with them. I also believe Meyer and Tubby make better adjustments. And Petrino may be better as well offensively with similar talent. I personally thnk Arkansas will beat Bama because Petrino will out-coach Saban.

And recruiting? Make a big deal for all its worth about that 2008 recruiting class. LSU, UGA and UF all have 100 plus players better than that class, academically qualified, and with experience, and Meyer, Miles and Richt simply have too much available talent for that to change. Miles may have the greatest class in LSU/SEC history this year. Meyer's three classes (85 players) AVERAGE
better than Saban's best class.

Four honest to God recruiting classes like 2008 are needed by Bama to even be considered a contender in the SEC.

So can Saban go 10-2? With UGA, LSU, UT, Auburn, Clemson on the schedule?

You're dreaming.

Expect Saban to bolt to Penn State soon enough.