Even since Nick Saban's retirement, it's been clear to Texas A&M fans how much respect he has for the Aggie program and College Station, consistently praising them as having some of the highest potential in the country as well as one of the top home field advantages.
He's also clearly a fan of Mike Elko and what he's building in Aggieland, talking very highly of the head man for A&M, as well as the team that they've put together this year. His highest praise yet came today, when— in an appearance on the Pat McAfee show— Saban named Texas A&M alongside Ohio State as two teams that have "separated themselves from everybody else" in the country:
"The two teams at this point in the season that have separated themselves from everybody else are Ohio State and Texas A&M..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 31, 2025
Marcel Reed is a special talent and he continues to improve" ~ Coach Saban #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/BodBNvOqz2
That's some lofty praise from a guy who would know what he's talking about when it comes to building elite teams and winning games. It's also something that will not exactly be ingratiating him to his former assistant Curt Cignetti and the Indiana Hoosiers fanbase.
Nick Saban names Texas A&M and Ohio State as top two teams in the country
Texas A&M has gotten a couple of huge road wins this season over Notre Dame— an elite team— and now LSU. Though the Tigers are not exactly an elite team this year like the Irish are, the way that the Aggies put them into the dirt was highly, highly impressive— Texas A&M's defense had allowed only 16 points before a garbage time score from backups against backups, while the offense had scored a whopping 49 before taking their foot off the gas.
Ohio State's resume is not quite as impressive, with the home win over flagging Texas in game one being their best of the year. However, they have succeeded in demolishing plenty of hapless Big 10 opponents and looking like a well-oiled machine doing so.
The odd man out here is Indiana. The Hoosiers got maybe one of the best wins of the year when they beat Oregon in Autzen, but we're still not exactly sure how good the Ducks are— their win over Penn State seemed huge at the time, but much less so now. A five-point road win over Iowa was good, but the Hawkeyes are not a team that is soaring high in any power rating model.
Time will tell if Saban was right to leave Indiana out. Right now, their resume certainly stacks up with Ohio State (though the Aggies still probably have the best in the country in that regard), but it's fair to think they may not be entirely proven yet.