Former Alabama coach and ESPN analyst Nick Saban believes college football’s best teams will still finish on top this season, even after five of the AP Top 25’s top seven teams lost on the same Saturday for the first time.

Speaking before his appearance at the Monday Morning Quarterback Club in Birmingham on Monday, Saban offered a prediction for the rest of the season. “I still think the best teams will end up being the best teams,” Saban said. “They just might not be perfect.”

Why does Saban trust the contenders?

Saban said the current climate in college athletics makes consistency harder to maintain.

“It’s always been challenging to get players to play with consistency and get players to sort of maintain intensity, I’m going to say, from play to play, game to game, week to week,” Saban said. “And I think it’s more challenging now.”

He pointed to his own title teams, a message he also delivered on College GameDay before Alabama’s trip to Knoxville. “We had seven championships. Only two teams went undefeated,” Saban said on the broadcast.

Georgia lost 27-24 at home to unranked Auburn one week after reaching No. 1, and quarterback Gunner Stockton’s fumble helped set up the Tigers’ walk-off field goal.

“It only takes turning the ball over to do it,” Saban said. “That’s what did Georgia.”

Saban credits Tennessee’s defense

Saban stopped short of questioning Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer’s preparation after the Crimson Tide’s 26-10 loss at Tennessee, saying he “can’t speak to internally what happens on the team.”

“Tennessee is a good team, especially on defense,” Saban said. “I mean, they were physical. We couldn’t run the ball. Jim Knowles is a really good defensive coordinator.”

Saban also called Tennessee running back DeSean Bishop, who wears No. 18, “a load.” Bishop ran for 159 yards, and the Vols forced four turnovers while shutting out Alabama in the second half. ESPN analyst Greg McElroy said the Tide got “bullied” in Knoxville.

Alabama (5-2) has lost consecutive games for the first time since 2007, Saban’s first season in Tuscaloosa.

“Tennessee is winning a different way,” Saban said. “They used to win with wide-open, explosive plays and outscore you. Now it’s play good defense and run the ball, shrink the game.”

Where does Saban stand on playoff expansion?

The College Football Playoff is moving toward a 24-team field starting in 2027. Saban has pitched a 16-team field as a compromise, and he believes money is driving the push.

“I know people are looking for new sources of revenue as costs go up relative to paying players and all that kind of stuff,” Saban said. “But I do think this is all about revenue.”

Saban also said he texted Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, who will miss the rest of the season with blood clots in both lungs. “He’s such a first-class guy,” Saban said of Hurts, who played for him at Alabama from 2016 to 2018 and was part of the 2017 national championship team.