Nick Saban shared the common belief that the undefeated Ohio State Buckeyes, Indiana Hoosiers, and TAMU Aggies are "a cut above" the rest of the prospective CFP field and the rest of college football in general during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Friday.
Saban didn't write off those programs catching losses, but felt that those teams were too flawed to get the same kind of adulation as the Buckeyes, Hoosiers, and Aggies through the first 11 weeks of the season.
"There's three teams that are a cut above right now..Those three teams are Ohio State, Texas A&M, and Indiana..The other teams are good enough to beat them, but those other teams have flaws." Saban said.
Joel Klatt didn't speak of the trio of schools as a single unit. Instead, Klatt delineated that Ohio State is a cut above even Indiana and TAMU.
“What can’t go either way is Ohio State at one. That is the clear best team in the country." Klatt said on his podcast.
“Jeremiah Smith, by the way, last two games, 16 targets, 16 catches, 260 yards, three touchdowns. Guy is insane. That’s without even [Carnell] Tate on the other side.
“That defense is suffocating. They are toying with people right now. Their players are different. When you watch Ohio State, that’s different.”
Week 12 may not provide much of a case for any of the three teams. OSU battles the UCLA Bruins at the "Shoe," IU hosts the Wisconsin Badgers in Bloomington, and TAMU takes on the South Carolina Gamecocks in College Station. All three are expected to handle their business.
If not, we've got a story. If so, these narratives will be recycled for another week. The Aggies host the Samford Bulldogs and the Buckeyes host the Rutgers Scarlet Knights next Saturday. So Week 13 could well be more of the same.
There may not be a changed opinion on the matter until Week 14 at the earliest, when TAMU travels to Austin to take on the Texas Longhorns and OSU travels to Ann Arbor for "The Game."
We'll definitely know everything necessary by then.