Sound the alarm: The SEC’s most prominent figure had some good things to say about the Big Ten.
Alabama coach Nick Saban, speaking in Ohio this week, was naturally asked about the Big Ten. For Saban, the SEC’s dominance and the Big Ten’s title drought is due to a better recruiting base in the South more than anything else.
“I think we have a little bit of an advantage when it comes to the recruiting base we have in the Southeast,” Saban said, via Cleveland.com. “But I think the Big Ten is a really good conference. And I want to be quoted on that.”
Finebaum comes on at 2 p.m. ET this afternoon, FYI.
There’s more good stuff from Saban in the article as to how the South differs from the Midwest/Rust Belt in terms of recruiting and fan bases -- and remember, it’s coming from someone who was Michigan State’s coach from 1995-1999. Saban talked about Big Ten schools needing to recruit nationally, something Ohio State has done well (Urban Meyer pulled the No. 1 player out of the state of Georgia in 2014’s recruiting cycle) but the rest of the conference needs to catch up on.
Otherwise, they’ll still be playing catch up with the SEC.