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Were previous eras of college football more compelling?
TL;DR
Current college football coaches reflect on the dominance of early 2010s teams, particularly Alabama, suggesting they would outperform today's squads due to deeper rosters. Kirby Smart emphasizes that while the game hasn't changed much, roster construction has significantly evolved.
Key points
- Kirby Smart praises Alabama's early 2010s teams.
- Smart believes those teams would dominate current college football.
- Roster construction has shifted to favor a few elite programs.
Mentioned in this story
Kirby Smart
AlabamaGeorgiaOhio StateMichigan
The quiet period of the spring gives college football fans a chance to assess where the sport is relative to where it was more than a decade ago. We recently heard current Georgia head coach and former Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart speak glowingly about his Crimson Tide teams from the early 2010s.
“I tell people all the time … our best Alabama teams — I’m going to go 2012, 13, 14, 15 — would beat the dog out of all these teams right now because they could practice different and they were deeper,” Smart said on The Next Round Live.
Smart continued, “The game has not changed that much from 2012 to 2025, but the roster has. And those teams would ‘Clubber Lang’ somebody. They would just physically beat you."
Smart's point about roster construction is well taken. At that point in the timeline, a select few schools in the SEC and the Big Ten gobbled up the vast majority of the nation's talent. Deep reserves on Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State and Michigan could've been superstars at any other program.
Given the profile of those schools, players were willing to wait their turn for a chance to start in games that were a cut above from a competition perspective. They could've transferred, but that usually meant sitting out a year, which made it a six-one-way half-dozen the other proposition.
Others like Josh Pate believe that the 1990s represented the best era of college football. Given the stark differences between then and now (no social media, no college football playoff, etc), it is difficult to compare the 90's with the present day.
Whether discussing the 1990's or the early part of the 2010's in relation to the modern-day version of college football, it feels like one thing is clear. Parity, or the means to achieve parity, is much more prevalent than it ever has been. We still have schools in power conferences working with significantly larger budgets than their competitors, but many more schools have a chance to bring in top talent more frequently than they ever have before.
Q&A
What did Kirby Smart say about Alabama's early 2010s teams?
Kirby Smart claimed that his best Alabama teams from 2012 to 2015 would dominate current teams due to their superior depth and practice methods.
How has roster construction in college football changed since 2012?
Since 2012, a few schools, mainly in the SEC and Big Ten, have accumulated most of the nation's talent, leading to deeper rosters compared to other programs.
Which teams does Kirby Smart believe would outperform today's college football teams?
Smart believes that Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, and Michigan from the early 2010s would physically overpower today's teams.
