Nick Saban does not have time for Bob Stoops’ anti-SEC remarks. He made that clear when speaking with reporters on Thursday, though he did say it in a nice way.
First, let’s start with Stoops’ comments. During a caravan stop in Tulsa, the Oklahoma coach defended the Big 12 and said all the hype surrounding the SEC was “propaganda.”
“It depends on who you want to listen to,” Stoops told the Tulsa World when asked about the gap between conferences. “Listen, they’ve had the best team in college football, meaning they’ve won the national championship. That doesn’t mean everything else is always the best.
“So you’re listening to a lot of propaganda that gets fed out to you. You’re more than smart enough to figure it out. Again, you can look at the top two, three, four, five, six teams, and you can look at the bottom six, seven, eight, whatever they are. How well are they all doing?”
Saban wasn’t about to let those comments bother him. In fact, he says he did not even hear about them.
“I didn’t even know he said it, so you’re going to have to tell me what he said,” Saban said, via AL.com. “I’ve got more important things to do than sit around and read what Bob Stoops has to say about anything. But I like Bob Stoops, and I respect him as a coach, but I’m really trying to manage our business.”
Saban said he respects the Big 12 and what Oklahoma does, but he did defend his conference.
“Well, we don’t play everybody in the Big 12 or whatever it is, so I really don’t know much about their league,” Saban said. “We have a lot of respect for what they do at Oklahoma, and I really don’t think that people that don’t play in our league really don’t understand the quality of our league from top to bottom.
“I think there’s probably a lot of animosity out there because of the success that we have in our league, but I think that kind of goes with the territory. I understand that. But we certainly respect the great program that they have at Oklahoma and the other good programs that they have in the Big 12.”
I used to firmly be in the “SEC is overhyped” camp and I would complain about an East Coast bias. I thought the Pac-10 was disrespected in conversations. But the truth is the SEC is the best conference in college football. It’s undeniable. They have the most money, the best players, the best resources, the best coaches, and it shows on the field.
You can see his comments around the 3:30 mark.
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