Nick Saban Calls for Major College Football Playoff Overhaul

Sep 12, 2026 at 01:57 PM EDT

Nick Saban retired as head coach at Alabama in January 2024, and yet he remains one of college football's most influential figures. He's been at the center of every major decision the sport has faced, and appears weekly on ESPN's "College GameDay." This week, Saban turned his focus to one of the biggest talking points in recent years: the College Football Playoff selection committee.

How the committee decides which teams get in and which don't has been the subject of debate since the CFP first expanded to 12 teams in 2024. That debate hasn't gone away, and as the 2026 season picks up, Saban made it clear this is an issue that still needs fixing.

"I think what we've created now is a system where how many games you win helps you get into the playoffs, and the playoffs become the barometer for the success of your program," Saban said Saturday. "We need a better metric to actually evaluate quality wins and quality losses. Some losses are better than some wins."

Saban pointed to the Texas Longhorns' season-opening loss at Ohio State as a prime example. "Like last year, Texas lost to Ohio State. Is that better than them beating Texas State?" Saban added. "I think there's got to be some metric with the committee that evaluates those things a little better, so we get the best teams in the playoff."

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There were several notable snubs from last year's CFP, but the biggest was Notre Dame. The Irish finished 10-2 and closed the season on a 10-game win streak, including wins over top programs like Boise State, USC, and Pittsburgh. That's a record that normally would've been good enough to make the playoff. Even their two losses came by a combined four points.

But Notre Dame was also competing with Miami for the final CFP spot, a team they'd lost to in the season opener, 27-24. Miami went on to reach the national championship game, which makes a three-point road loss to them harder to hold against the Irish. Their other loss, to an 11-2 Texas A&M squad, came by a single point (41-40).

BYU and Vanderbilt also had breakout seasons but were left out of the postseason, while programs like Tulane and James Madison earned bids.

There's been talk of expanding the field to 24 teams instead of 12, which would've opened the door for teams like Notre Dame. But that wouldn't necessarily solve the core problem. It would likely mean more smaller schools getting in, only to get blown out in the first round. That risks hurting both the regular season, by making individual games feel less consequential, and the postseason, by creating more lopsided matchups.

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