Coach Nick Saban’s success at Alabama has elevated several former assistants into prominent head coaching positions across the country. The Crimson Tide coach has faced his former pupils 19 times, but none of them have gotten the best of Saban yet.
Saban’s average margin of victory in those games is 24.79 points.
Saban assistants actively leading college programs by conference:
SEC: Jimbo Fisher (Texas A&M), Lane Kiffin (Ole Miss), Will Muschamp (South Carolina), Jeremy Pruitt (Tennessee), Kirby Smart (Georgia)
Big 10: Mike Locksley (Maryland), Mel Tucker (Michigan State)
PAC-12: Mario Cristobal (Oregon)
Sun Belt: Billy Napier (Louisiana)
MAC: Jim McElwain (Central Michigan)
In the last two years, Saban’s streak has been put to the test seven times, including once in the SEC Championship game. In 2020, the Crimson Tide will face another four former assistants.
These showdowns are starting to dominate Alabama’s schedule. How much longer can Saban last before one of these games slips away, and what coach is in the best position to snap the streak?
Ranking the most likely candidates:
Lane Kiffin
Record against Saban: 0-0
Next meeting: Oct. 24
Why him: Kiffin has consistently proven himself to be an offensive guru. When teams have beaten Saban’s Alabama teams, some have played a style of football that the Crimson Tide was unfamiliar. Others were the beneficiary of some extremely rare events.
Kiffin can’t force almost unprecedented events to take place, but it’s easy to imagine him pulling out all the stops when the two teams face off on the football field. Plus, let’s not forget his Tennessee team lost 12-10 after two blocked field goals prevented him from handing Saban his only loss of the 2009 season. (Note: That game is not included above because he was not yet a former Saban assistant).
Why he won’t: When Ole Miss defeated the Crimson Tide in 2013 and 2014, it did so with the help of the 2013 class which ranked No. 7. Nine four-star and three five-star prospects signed on that year. In 2020, Ole Miss recruited the No. 46 class, and only 15 four-star prospects signed with the Rebels over the last three years.
Kirby Smart
Record against Saban: 0-2
Total score: 51-41
Next meeting: Sept. 19 @ Alabama
Why him: None have come closer than Smart. He had Saban on the ropes before backup quarterback Tua Tagovailoa capped off an improbable comeback with perhaps the most iconic play in the history of Alabama football.
Then the next time the two teams faced off in the 2019 SEC Championship game Smart held a 14-point lead late in the third quarter before backup quarterback Jalen Hurts helped Alabama pull ahead with only two minutes to spare.
Oh yeah and Smart just recruited his third-consecutive No. 1 class.
Why he won’t: If Smart was entering his second or third season with a starting quarterback, then this might be the year he pulled off the upset against an Alabama quarterback that is still settling into a new role. With both teams breaking in new passers, it’s tough to imagine Smart coming away with a victory inside Bryant-Denny Stadium.
As for the future, facing off in the SEC Championship game every year sounds nice on paper, but the conference might be too competitive for that matchup to actually manifest itself more than once every three or four years.
Read the rest
https://alabama.rivals.com/news/20-for-20-which-former-assistant-will-finally-beat-nick-saban-
Saban’s average margin of victory in those games is 24.79 points.
Saban assistants actively leading college programs by conference:
SEC: Jimbo Fisher (Texas A&M), Lane Kiffin (Ole Miss), Will Muschamp (South Carolina), Jeremy Pruitt (Tennessee), Kirby Smart (Georgia)
Big 10: Mike Locksley (Maryland), Mel Tucker (Michigan State)
PAC-12: Mario Cristobal (Oregon)
Sun Belt: Billy Napier (Louisiana)
MAC: Jim McElwain (Central Michigan)
In the last two years, Saban’s streak has been put to the test seven times, including once in the SEC Championship game. In 2020, the Crimson Tide will face another four former assistants.
These showdowns are starting to dominate Alabama’s schedule. How much longer can Saban last before one of these games slips away, and what coach is in the best position to snap the streak?
Ranking the most likely candidates:
Lane Kiffin
Record against Saban: 0-0
Next meeting: Oct. 24
Why him: Kiffin has consistently proven himself to be an offensive guru. When teams have beaten Saban’s Alabama teams, some have played a style of football that the Crimson Tide was unfamiliar. Others were the beneficiary of some extremely rare events.
Kiffin can’t force almost unprecedented events to take place, but it’s easy to imagine him pulling out all the stops when the two teams face off on the football field. Plus, let’s not forget his Tennessee team lost 12-10 after two blocked field goals prevented him from handing Saban his only loss of the 2009 season. (Note: That game is not included above because he was not yet a former Saban assistant).
Why he won’t: When Ole Miss defeated the Crimson Tide in 2013 and 2014, it did so with the help of the 2013 class which ranked No. 7. Nine four-star and three five-star prospects signed on that year. In 2020, Ole Miss recruited the No. 46 class, and only 15 four-star prospects signed with the Rebels over the last three years.
Kirby Smart
Record against Saban: 0-2
Total score: 51-41
Next meeting: Sept. 19 @ Alabama
Why him: None have come closer than Smart. He had Saban on the ropes before backup quarterback Tua Tagovailoa capped off an improbable comeback with perhaps the most iconic play in the history of Alabama football.
Then the next time the two teams faced off in the 2019 SEC Championship game Smart held a 14-point lead late in the third quarter before backup quarterback Jalen Hurts helped Alabama pull ahead with only two minutes to spare.
Oh yeah and Smart just recruited his third-consecutive No. 1 class.
Why he won’t: If Smart was entering his second or third season with a starting quarterback, then this might be the year he pulled off the upset against an Alabama quarterback that is still settling into a new role. With both teams breaking in new passers, it’s tough to imagine Smart coming away with a victory inside Bryant-Denny Stadium.
As for the future, facing off in the SEC Championship game every year sounds nice on paper, but the conference might be too competitive for that matchup to actually manifest itself more than once every three or four years.
Read the rest
https://alabama.rivals.com/news/20-for-20-which-former-assistant-will-finally-beat-nick-saban-
