Urban Meyer and Nick Saban coach in different leagues now, but the former SEC rivals are still going at it. Their latest battle is on nothing less than the future of football. Saban, you see, is not amused by what he sees as a fancy dancy trend sweeping across college football: the no-huddle offense. He prefers the classic pro-style look, Meyer -- and a roster of others -- the bullet-paced spread.
"I think that the way people are going no-huddle right now, that at some point in time, we should look at how fast we allow the game to go in terms of player safety," Saban said on the SEC teleconference this week, according to AL.com. "The team gets in the same formation group, you can’t substitute defensive players, you go on a 14-, 16-, 18-play drive and they’re snapping the ball as fast as you can go and you look out there and all your players are walking around and can’t even get lined up. That’s when guys have a much greater chance of getting hurt when they’re not ready to play.
"I think that’s something that can be looked at. It’s obviously created a tremendous advantage for the offense when teams are scoring 70 points and we’re averaging 49.5 points a game."
"Is this what we want football to be?" Saban then asked.
To which Meyer replied with a resounding, "Yes!"
"I think it’s great for the game," he said of the no-huddle element. "There are so many different personalities in college football, and I’ve had guys on my staff who either played in the pros or coached in the pros, and the one thing about NFL football -- I’m obviously not an expect because I don’t get to see it that much -- is you don’t see the multitude of different offenses that you see in college. You can go from wishbone, spread-option to throwing it 50 times a game to pro style. I love it because I love watching it. I love getting that film and using other people’s ideas, so I think it’s great for college football."
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