Alabama had tried to schedule Clemson to open this season. They didn’t want to.
Go back and check Alabama’s opening opponent since Saban has been at Bama and I don’t believe you can find anyone that has opened with better opponents.
I don’t know why Alabama would want to schedule Clemson as an opener. They play each other every year anyway!
I was actually defending Saban: it’s the norm in the Power 5 to dodge any chance of a non-conference loss; Saban is hardly the chief culprit.
However, I don’t take Saban seriously when he calls for a National Title re-match to open the season. That’s just not how sports work. Nor do I give him one lick of credibility if he’s saying that home-game matches against Duke, So. Mississippi, New Mexico St. and W. Carolina are the most challenging match-ups he can create.
Also, his suggestion to play only Power-5 conferences seems a deliberate non-starter, when he’s scheduling LCS teams. Go to Central Florida: they’re in a big city, sitting on a 12-1 record, and have nothing to fear losing to Alabama. Go to Temple, Cincinnati, MTSU, UAB, Boise St., Fresno St., Appy St...