Oct. 4, 2025; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Former Alabama coach Nick Saban smiles as he is on set during ESPN’s College GameDay on location on the Quad at the University of Alabama before the Alabama versus Vanderbilt game.

Through the first six weeks of the college football season, Nick Saban believes the depth of the SEC far outstrips that of the Big Ten.

The Big Ten caught the stray by the former Alabama football coach during his weekly appearance on ESPN's "The Pat McAfee Show" on Friday, Oct. 10 at the University of Oregon ahead of Week 7's edition of "College GameDay.

"I don't think the Big Ten is really that deep," Saban said on "The Pat McAfee Show" on Oct. 10. "I think Illinois has a pretty decent team. It's not like the SEC where you've got eight or nine teams that can beat you. Think there are three or four teams in the Big Ten that can beat you."

When A.J. Hawk, the former Ohio State linebacker turned analyst on "The Pat McAfee Show," responded to Saban's original statement with the Big Ten expanding, Saban replied bluntly with "deeper by what?"

So, who are the teams that Saban believes can beat each other? He pointed at Penn State, Michigan, and USC. Saban added "we will see tomorrow nigth" whether Lincoln Riley's Trojans are contenders in the Big Ten when they meet up with the Wolverines. Then he named his two contenders from the Big Ten, excluding top-ranked Ohio State.

"You have Oregon, Indiana, legit, so far. And we’ll see how legit Indiana is probably tomorrow," Saban said. “I mean, Illinois got beat like a redheaded stepchild, you know, down at Indiana, so are they legit? I mean, c’mon. Ohio State is great.

"... Texas A&M is pretty good, Georgia is pretty good, Ole Miss is pretty good. Alabama has got a chance. Missouri has got a chance. I mean, there are a lot of good teams. Tennessee is pretty good."

There is some truth and statistical backup in Saban's statement on how the SEC is deeper than the Big Ten. In the latest US LBM Coaches Poll, the SEC had nine teams appear in the top 25 compared to the Big Ten's five teams, including five of the top 10 spots being occupied by the conference whose mantra is "It Just Means More."

Week 7 of the college football season features some heavyweight Big Ten and SEC matchups with No. 1 Oregon-No. 17 Illinois, No. 2 Oregon-No. 7 Indiana, No. 15 Michigan-USC, No. 7 Alabama-No. 14 Missouri and No. 6 Oklahoma-Texas.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nick Saban: 'I don't think the Big Ten is really that deep... it's not like the SEC'

Reporting by John Leuzzi, USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY

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