Nick Saban has certainly been one of the catalysts for popularizing neutral-site season-opening games between major conference powers in college football.
Next season alone, Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, LSU and Ole Miss will open with neutral-site matchups.
The change in thinking has been good for Saban and Alabama. The Tide is 8-0 in such games, with wins over Michigan, USC and Florida State to name three.
But now Saban is rethinking the scheduling approach.
During his Thursday night coaches show, Saban said that he and Athletics Director Greg Byrne have discussed the idea of scheduling some home-and-home series with major opponents. Alabama hasn’t taken part in such a game since winning at Penn State in 2011.
It’s hard to pass up the $5 million Alabama received for playing Florida State in Atlanta, or the $4.5 million the school is set to receive for playing Duke to open the 2019 season in Atlanta.
But fans are growing tired of paying big bucks for season tickets that don’t include a single non-conference game of interest.
What do you think? Which team would you want your school to schedule for a home-and-home?
For Threaded Fasteners, I’m Randy Kennedy with Nuts and Bolts of the Game.
