Is a potential Texas football takeover of the SEC actually a thing?
Not according to Nick Saban, the greatest coach in that league’s history.
The Longhorns will make their first appearance at SEC media days Wednesday, but they were a hot topic Monday as the conference’s annual gathering kicked off at the Omni Hotel in Dallas.
Alabama head coach Nick Saban, right, talks to Texas’ Steve Sarkisian before their 2023 game in Tuscaloosa, Ala., last September. The Longhorns won 34-24 and are about to play their first season as part of the SEC. On Monday, Saban cooled on any thoughts Texas will dominate the league early.
Saban was asked during the SEC Network’s coverage if the Longhorns were going to run the new league.
More: Texas football enters the SEC with expectations that might be too high | Golden
Run as in dominate football from the jump?
Not happening, Saban said.
“It kind of tickles me about all these people asking all these questions about how Texas always ran the conference they were in,” Saban, a new ESPN studio analyst, said during the SEC Network’s coverage. “They’re not going to run the SEC. There’s a whole lot of arrogant people in a lot of places in the SEC, so you can forget all about that.”
Saban didn’t stutter. That’s predictable, but it was still nice to hear thoughts turned into words. The former Alabama coach’s powerful statement takes on a certain gravitas while also sending the message that the league isn’t just going to roll over because the Horns and Oklahoma Sooners have arrived.
Saban helped built this conference into a mega power, and he is understandably still an advocate. That said, he maintains a healthy amount of respect for the Horns, who beat his Crimson Tide 34-24 in 2023, his final season. It was only the second double-digit home loss in his 17 years in Tuscaloosa, the…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nick-saban-does-crimson-tide-213141714.html
Author : Austin American-Statesman
Publish date : 2024-07-15 21:31:41
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