Way-too-early 2024 SEC football power rankings without Nick Saban
By Sam Fariss
![Jan 1, 2024; Pasadena, CA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban walks the sideline during the Rose Bowl. Jan 1, 2024; Pasadena, CA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban walks the sideline during the Rose Bowl.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_7491,h_4213,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/194/01hkwn3fg88fjndrtm5y.jpg)
. . . Alabama Crimson Tide. . 4. . 523. .
The Tide will not be the same without Nick Saban. The GOAT of college football coaches, Saban is leaving behind an unmatchable legacy.
However, this means that all of the talent Saban worked to recruit can leave. Alabama players had a 30-day window open when their coach announced his retirement in which they can transfer out of Tuscaloosa.
With the guarantee that the program will be under a new head coach, if enough star power leaves I think the fourth-place finish for Alabama is generous. Before Saban’s retirement, he had signed 19 four-star and two five-star recruits for the Tide.
This prodigal team is going to struggle under new leadership but at the end of the day, it’s the Alabama Crimson Tide, they’ll be fine.
The team escapes the risk of playing the Longhorns and gets to play Georgia at home instead of in Athens.
Nick Saban has spent more weeks at No. 1️⃣ in the AP Poll than any PROGRAM in poll history, all with Alabama 😳 pic.twitter.com/zgEKFZsk2K
— ESPN (@espn) January 10, 2024