Picture this: you’re in a long season of head-to-head college football matchups, and battles on the gridiron, and then… the playoff decisions come down to a ranking based on perceived strength, not wins and losses. Yeah, straight on your face non-top 25 ranked teams. Surely, Nick Saban didn’t’ say that. But you get the gist to it.

But this is what teams who worked hard would’ve felt if it was for Nick Saban. His idea has ruffled more than a few feathers among fans and analysts, including CBS’s Cover 3 Podcast panel. Analysts Chip Patterson, Danny Kanell, Tom Fornelli, and Bud Elliott aired their frustration with this “best team” idea, arguing that it risks undermining the integrity of each game and, in turn, the magic of college football. The argument relying on power rankings or assumed best team status, as Saban advocates, veers dangerously close to undermining what college football is all about—grueling competition on the field, not in the mind. It diminishes the regular season and devalues underdog wins.

“If we’re going to do polls this way and rankings this way, then why even play at any games?” Patterson quipped, hitting at the heart of their concerns. Choosing teams based on the “best” instead of earned wins on the field risks turning the playoffs into more of an ego contest. Saban, though, has made it clear he believes in a method that ensures the highest-quality teams make the playoffs. They might be on to something here! As for Saban only wants the best teams in the playoffs, his method of selecting might not be the best, it’s rather subjective. Ranking teams on “what we think” will happen rather than “what has” sets a troubling precedent.

We all love an underdog story, don’t we? Nick Saban, doesn’t, it seems. Therein lies the fundamental divide: do you reward on-field success, or do you try to preemptively pick the strongest teams? For Saban, it’s about getting the best matchup, but for some, it’s about sticking to earned victories.

The Nick Saban proposal’s downside, a game changer for regular season

Nick Saban’s skepticism about the new playoff format goes beyond simple ranking; he sees a potential weakening of the regular season’s significance. “If you’re going to water down the regular season,” he noted, “then it’ll only matter how you’re ranked at the end.” For Saban, it’s a real concern.

The legendary Bama coach’s argument revolves around selecting teams that would theoretically hold up in any matchup. He fears that under the current system, the playoffs can sometimes fail to showcase the actual best teams. Leaning instead toward those with favorable schedules or fortunate upsets.

Saban pointed out last season that power rankings, which account for strength and depth, could resolve this. Under the proposed 12-team model. Saban believes teams may be able to “coast” if they know they’re likely to make it in the end. Instead of every game being a nail-biting must-win, it risks becoming a season of good enough to make the cut. To each their own.