Alabama football: Nick Saban thinks defense is a thing of the past

Nick Saban said defense does not matter anymore when it comes to winning championships.

Defense won Nick Saban a ton of national championships, but apparently not any more.

The Alabama football coach said this week, ““I do think the days of playing great defense and winning are probably behind us [in college football].”

While the Alabama Crimson Tide have become quite the offensive juggernaut in recent years, we all know how Saban cut his teeth as an outstanding defensive backs coach and defensive-minded head coach. What is up with this quote?

Offense may win big these days, but you still have to stop someone

What we have seen in recent college football seasons is that a team cannot be one-dimensional and contend for national titles. Sure, having a phenomenal defense is nice, but if you cannot hang tough in a shootout, you end up looking like Saban’s protege Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs. Conversely, if you cannot stop anyone, you become Lincoln Riley’s Oklahoma Sooners.

So what does Saban’s quote actually mean? You have to be able to win in multiple ways, depending on what the opponent merits and what a particular game requires. In short, Saban recognizes that defense paired with a three yards and a cloud of dust offensive approach will not be able to cut it vs. a high-octane from another conference in the College Football Playoff.

However, if you cannot stop a nosebleed defensively, you are leaving yourself up to chance to be upset by someone considerably worse than you, especially if your offense simply does not have it that day. So in some aspects, Saban is right that three yards and a cloud of dust is largely over, but having a defense that can take away an opponent’s best offensive weapons is always paramount.

Defense can still win championships, just not defense alone, and Saban is right in that regard.

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