In case you didn’t know, Nick Saban is not one for comparisons.

A few weeks ago, I got a nice reminder of that when I asked the Alabama coach a question on the SEC Coaches Teleconference prior to the LSU game. I was interested in finding out how different it was to prepare for this year’s LSU offense (one with Matt Canada and his wild pre-snap activity) compared to past LSU offenses.

Saban had none of it. Before I could even finishing spitting all the words out, he offered something to the effect of “well I don’t make comparisons” and proceeded to tell me only about the challenges that the 2017 Tigers presented.

Stupid writer.

Of course Saban isn’t going to talk about anything other than his next opponent. His focus is not on history or the future. It’s not his job to compare past to present, nor is it his job to forecast future scenarios.

That’s my job. I’ll handle the comparisons and I’ll gladly put something in perspective. There’s one thing that’s been circling my mind the last few weeks. It’s certainly not something you’ll ever hear come out Saban’s mouth at a mid-week teleconference or at the championship podium after his annual 10 seconds of postgame smiling.

If Saban leads Alabama to a perfect season in 2017, it’ll be his greatest on-field accomplishment as a football coach.

Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

That might not be a popular argument to make right now. After all, Alabama is coming off that barnburner against Mercer. I contend that Jalen Hurts could’ve become the first quarterback in history to go 45-for-45 with 1,000 yards and 10 touchdown passes in a game.

Let’s also not forget that all the talk is centered on the Iron Bowl and whether the Tide can overcome its toughest hurdle of the 2017 season. There are still a whole lot of pages left in this chapter of Saban’s legacy.

But consider what a 15-0 Alabama team would have done to reach that point. All the talk about the Tide’s atypically weak strength of schedule in the first 2 months will have flown out the window by season’s end.

A perfect Alabama team in 2017 will have beaten 3 top-25 foes in the final 4 weeks of the regular season. On top of that, it will have beaten arguably its toughest SEC East foe since that 2012 Georgia team. Oh, and it will have beaten 2 top-4 foes in the College Football Playoff to claim a national title.

That’s 6 legitimate top-25 foes and 4 top-10 foes in the final 7 games of the season. That’s a gauntlet.

Sure, Alabama faced tougher overall SEC slates before, but it never had to face anything quite like this to end the season. Keep in mind that no Playoff team has made the field after losing after Nov. 9. If you do subscribe to the belief that the Tide would be eliminated with a loss to Auburn or an SEC Championship defeat, that’s a whole lot of potential land mines.

By the way, all that would have to happen while the Tide’s injury list ballooned in November. The Tide are banged up at linebacker and defensive MVP Minkah Fitzpatrick isn’t at 100 percent heading into the home stretch.

Saban has had to deal with injuries before. He’s also gone undefeated before. In fact, he’s gone undefeated with a gauntlet slate before.

The 2009 Alabama team had the toughest schedule in the country according to the Sagarin computer ratings. The Tide beat 4 top-25 teams and 2 top-10 teams in the regular season, then rolled No. 1 Florida in the SEC Championship and beat No. 2 Texas in the BCS National Championship.

Yes, Saban had to take down the nation’s top 2 teams to win a title that year. But let’s think about the challenge his team is about to embark on. If the Tide do indeed meet those title-or-bust expectations, this is the final 4 games to get there:

  • at No. 6 Auburn
  • vs. No. 7 Georgia in SEC Championship (neutral site)
  • vs. No. 4 in Playoff semifinal
  • vs. No. 2/3 in national championship

Forget the LSUs and Mississippi States of the world. That’s bru-tal. And you mean to tell me the Tide would be deemed a failure if it doesn’t run the table? Wow.

You know how many Power 5 teams have gone undefeated since the Playoff system began in 2014? Zero. Zilch. Zip. Nada.

Saban’s 2016 squad was an offensive pass interference call away from making that happen (it really wasn’t a pick play). That would’ve easily been Saban’s best accomplishment to date. Going 15-0 is insanely difficult, even for a power like Alabama.

Contrary to popular belief, Saban’s squads still bleed. They still make mistakes. They’re still 18-22-year-old kids dealing with the most grueling mental and physical stretch of their lives. Whether Saban admits it or not, a daunting road lies ahead.

And if he can navigate his team through it, he’ll have plenty of reason to stretch that smile out to 20 seconds in January.