It was in the lobby of the Sandestin Hilton beach resort in May of 2007 that then-Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said how he really felt about Nick Saban returning to the Southeastern Conference from two seasons as the Miami Dolphins’ coach.
“No, I don’t like it at all,” Fulmer said smiling before he checked in for the SEC Spring Meetings. “I wish he would’ve stayed his (bleep) down in Miami.”
Fulmer was 1-2 against LSU when Saban was the Tigers’ head coach from 2000-04, including a 31-20 upset loss to the No. 21 Tigers in the SEC Championship Game on Dec. 8, 2001. Fulmer’s Vols were 10-1 and No. 2 in the nation entering the game. With a win, they would have played No. 1 Miami in the Rose Bowl in Tennessee’s second national championship game in four seasons after winning it all in 1998. Tennessee hasn’t been close to a national title since.
So, you can understand Fulmer’s feelings.
Then-LSU coach Les Miles would have preferred Saban stay at Miami, too. Same for Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville, Georgia coach Mark Richt, and Florida coach Urban Meyer, and others at the time – if not then, soon. Had Saban and Miami signed Drew Brees from San Diego before the 2006 season instead of Daunte Culpepper from Minnesota, Saban may still be coaching the Dolphins. And a lot of other college coaches, particularly in the SEC, would have been a lot more successful in his absence.
LSU COULD HAVE 2 MORE NATIONAL TITLES HAD NICK SABAN STAYED AT MIAMI
Alabama introduced Saban as its coach on Jan. 4, 2007, and two nights later, an LSU athletic department official told a few reporters at Walk-Ons near LSU after the Tigers beat Connecticut in basketball this:
“Oh, Saban will leave after a few years like he has everywhere else.”
Nope. Saban stayed for 17 seasons, and Alabama won six national championships from 2009-20 before he retired after reaching the College Football Playoff for the eighth time last season. He also lost three national championship games at Alabama.
Without Saban at Alabama, LSU and Miles likely win the national championship at 14-0 in the 2011-12 season. Instead, the Tigers fell to Saban, 21-0. Without Saban at Alabama, LSU may have reached the national title game in 2012 after an 11-1 regular season. But it lost 21-17 at home to No. 1 Alabama and finished 10-2 and out of a major bowl.
Now, No. 11 Alabama (6-2, 3-2 SEC) stands in LSU’s way as the No. 15 Tigers (6-2, 3-1 SEC) try to reach the College Football Playoff for the first time since winning the national title in 2019 – only after their first win over Saban in eight years.
Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m. in Tiger Stadium Saturday on ABC.
And Saban will not be coaching Alabama. He’ll be in the stadium as an ESPN analyst and at the Quad Saturday morning as part of College GameDay. And he spoke to LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey’s team before its game Friday.
But Saban can’t beat LSU for a 14th time as Alabama’s coach. Kalen DeBoer is the new Alabama coach, and he lost to Vanderbilt this season. Saban never did, and neither did the five Alabama coaches before him.
DeBoer also lost to Tennessee this season. Saban was 16-1 against Tennessee as Alabama’s coach.
Alabama is still very talented with dual-threat quarterback Jalen Milroe and freshman wide receiver Ryan Williams. But Milroe is not as good as he was the second half of last season. He has six fumbles and six interceptions.
And Alabama is not playing defense as well as most of Saban’s teams did. The Tide is 14th out of 16 SEC teams against the run and 65th nationally with 144.5 yards allowed a game. LSU does not have a great running game, but it has showed flashes with tailback Kaden Durham and will be able to dent the Tide.
LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier is better than Milroe. If he runs here and there and doesn’t throw multiple interceptions again, he’ll dominate Alabama’s secondary. The Tide is pedestrian against the pass at sixth in the SEC and 34th nationally with 193.3 yards allowed a game. That’s better than LSU, but Tigers’ defensive coordinator Blake Baker should be able to devise a better plan for Milroe than was used by LSU last season. Milroe rushed for 155 yards on 20 carries and four TDs last year in a 42-28 Alabama win, and he threw for 219 yards.
Alabama is just 11th in the SEC in total defense and 44th nationally with 337.8 yards allowed a game. LSU is worse at No. 13 and No. 58 with 360.8 yards allowed a game. But bet on Baker’s unit doing better in Tiger Stadium than Alabama’s SEC rookie defensive coordinator Kane Wommack, who previously was a DC at South Alabama and Eastern Illinois.
Wommack’s defense had a very Sun Belt look to it as Vanderbilt gashed it for 418 yards and 26 first downs at a 12-for-18 clip on third down. That didn’t happen against Saban defenses very often.
Life was so good for LSU before Saban went back to the SEC in 2007, mainly because of what he did at LSU.
The last time LSU played a sans-Saban Alabama team, Miles’ No. 12 Tigers beat unranked Alabama of coach Mike Shula, 28-14, on Nov. 11, 2006, in Tiger Stadium. That was the last time Alabama entered the LSU game not ranked. Under Saban, Alabama played LSU six times as the No. 1 team and 14 times as a top five team.
LSU’s win in that last pre-Saban game put it at 6-1 over the Tide since 2000 – LSU’s greatest era against Alabama in history. Of those six wins, four were by double digits. Saban’s 27-3 win over Alabama in 2003 was LSU’s most lopsided win over the Tide since 28-0 in 1957 – the year before Bear Bryant’s arrival on the Capstone.
Saban went 4-1 against Alabama from 2000-04. No other LSU coach has been better facing the Tide. Miles went 2-0 to finish out the 6-1 run, and then won his first meeting over Saban at Alabama in 2007. But Miles lost his last seven in a row to Saban to finish 3-7 against him and 5-7 against Alabama. Saban went on to finish 13-5 against LSU.
Kelly won his first meeting over Saban as LSU’s coach, too, 32-31, in overtime in 2022, knocking the Tide out of the College Football Playoff before Kelly’s 42-28 loss last year. He was 1-3 all-time vs. Saban as he lost to him twice as Notre Dame’s coach in the postseason. And neither was pretty – 42-14 in the BCS national championship game in the 2012 season and 31-14 in a CFP semifinal in the 2020 season when Saban went on to win his final national crown.
A win by Kelly Saturday night will eliminate Alabama from the CFP yet again and put him in the most elite position of any LSU football coach as far as Alabama is concerned. He would become the first LSU coach to beat Alabama back-to-back in Tiger Stadium … ever. Saban didn’t do that as he lost, 31-0, to the Tide in 2002. Miles nearly did in 2012, but fell in the final moments, 21-17. Charles McClendon had a chance in 1971, but lost 14-7.
The only time in history that LSU beat Alabama twice in a row in Tiger Stadium was in 1946, 31-21, and in 1948, 26-6, but under different coaches – Bernie Moore and Gaynell Tinsley.
Kelly was asked about the unique feat on Thursday.
“Hadn’t thought about it for one second,” he said. “All I’ve thought about really is preparing this football team against a really good Alabama team. Those kinds of thoughts for me in my career have always been things that I’ll consider when my career is over. My career is just starting here.”
With Saban out of the picture, every college football contending coach’s career is just starting this year.
“Is Nick Saban back?,” Kelly mused a week ago when a reporter said Alabama looked like its “old self again” in a 34-0 win over Missouri on Oct. 26.
“Nick’s on the sideline?,” Kelly laughed sarcastically. “He’s at GameDay, too. He’s everywhere.”
Everywhere but in the Alabama coaching box on Saturday night in Tiger Stadium. And when Kelly looks across the field at a critical point, and doesn’t see him, he may be smiling again and on his way to his first College Football Playoff … Sans Saban.
SEC FOOTBALL SCHEDULE (CFP rankings)
Florida at No. 5 Texas, 11 a.m., ABC
No. 3 Georgia at No. 16 Ole Miss, 2:30 p.m., ABC
South Carolina at Vanderbilt, 3:15 p.m., SEC Network
Mississippi State at No. 7 Tennessee, 6 p.m., ESPN
No. 11 Alabama at No. 15 LSU, 6:30 p.m., ABC
Oklahoma at No. 24 Missouri, 6:45 p.m., SEC Network
THE GUILBEAU SEC POLL
1.Georgia (7-1, 5-1 SEC)
2. Texas (7-1, 3-1)
3. Tennessee (7-1, 4-1)
4. LSU (6-2, 3-1)
5. Alabama (6-2, 3-2)
6. Texas A&M (7-2, 5-1)
7. Ole Miss (7-2, 3-2)
8. Vanderbilt (6-3, 3-2)
9. Missouri (6-2, 2-2)
10. South Carolina (5-3, 3-3)
11. Arkansas (5-4, 3-3)
12. Florida (4-4, 2-3)
13. Oklahoma (5-4, 1-4)
14. Auburn (3-6, 1-5)
15. Kentucky (3-6, 1-6)
16. Mississippi State (2-7, 0-5).
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“He still has an office over there at Alabama so I’m not sure, but you know what they say, ‘Keep your friends close. Keep your enemies closer.'”
… LSU coach Brian Kelly joking about whether he was going to let former Alabama coach Nick Saban watch LSU practice this week as an analyst for ESPN’s College GameDay. “We’re going to let him hang around a little bit, but we’re not going to let him in the locker room, that’s for sure.”
POSSIBLE BS QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Gator Nation, I wanted to let you know that Billy Napier will continue as head football coach of the Florida Gators. I am confident that Billy will meet the challenges and opportunities ahead. We will work alongside him to support any changes needed to elevate Gator football.”
… Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin in a letter to Florida fans on social media Thursday. We shall see if by “continue” Stricklin means after Napier’s next three games, which are at No. 5 Texas and at home versus No. 15 LSU and No. 16 Ole Miss. He could be 4-7 going into the season finale at 1-8 Florida State.
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