Back to the UCLA Bruins Newsfeed

Pac-12 football coaches again face strength-of-schedule issue

It didn’t take long for the new college football season to revive a classic debate over strength of schedule and marquee programs padding their nonconference record with underdogs.

Nick Saban — whose top-ranked Alabama team has taken the opposite tack, starting against third-ranked Florida State — suggested this week that schools from the Power Five conferences ought to pick on opponents their own size.

“Just like in the NFL, you play all NFL teams,” Saban told ESPN. “You don’t play three teams from Canada or the Canadian league or whatever so you can get your record good enough so you can go to a bowl game.