ACC analyst claps back at Nick Saban’s criticism of ACC schedules
By Mark Kern
Published:
ACC fans are gearing up for the ACC Championship Game on Saturday as the Clemson Tigers and SMU Mustangs square off in Charlotte with a potential College Football Playoff spot on the line.
The Tigers are in a must-win situation, as they have 3 losses on the season. SMU on the other hand, has only 1 loss this year entering the game, and that is a 3-point road loss at BYU.
During College Gameday on ESPN earlier in the day, Nick Saban compared the ACC and the SEC. During the segment, he said the top teams in the ACC didn’t play each other, and college football doesn’t want to start a trend of teams not playing tough schedules to ensure more wins.
ACC Network analyst Eric MacLain took issue with those comments and had a fiery response for the legendary coach.
“When you have three losses, that discussion is off the table for me.” @EricMacLain on why Miami should be in the College Football Playoff. pic.twitter.com/doLHJvrn62
— ACC Network (@accnetwork) December 8, 2024
“You know what I think is so funny about that? Listen, here’s the deal,” MacLain said. “You respect Nick Saban for what he did, but he’s a colleague now. We are the same. We can box. We can talk and have these adverse things.
“Losing matters. If you are 1-10 or 1-11 but you beat No. 1 Georgia, we don’t care. Losing is a part of it. If you have 3 losses, you are done. You are out. You have a 10-2 Miami team that lost to a Georgia Tech team that took (Georgia) at full strength to the wire. When you have 3 losses, that discussion is off the table for me.”
Miami is behind Alabama, and the CFP committee has said that teams that aren’t playing this week can’t improve their standing.
