ORLANDO, Fla.— Alabama coach Nick Saban and Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh will never be best of friends after a blowup in 20126.
So after Alabama’s running back Najee Harris scored on a two-yard run rather than take a knee with 26 seconds to play to put an exclamation mark on the Tide a 36-18 victory in the final minute of the Citrus Bowl at Orlando, it set off a raging debate among the fan bases of both schools as to whether Saban ran up the score.
Four years ago, Saban spoke out at the SEC meetings, ripping Harbaugh’s use of satellite camps to boost recruiting outside the state, even hosting a high- profile camp in Florida earlier that spring.
“I don’t know how it benefits anybody because all the people that say this is creating opportunities for kids, this is all about recruiting,’’ Saban said. “That’s what it’s about… What’s amazing to me is somebody didn’t stand up and says there’s going to unintentional consequences for what you all are doing.
“There needs to be somebody who looks out for what is best for the game, not what’s best for the Big Ten or what’s best for the SEC or what’s best for Jim Harbaugh, but what’s best for the game of college football.
Harbaugh was quick to fire back on Twitter. “Amazing to me—Alabama broke NCAA rules and now their HC is lecturing us on the possibility of rules being broken at camps. Truly amazing,’’ he tweeted.
Neither coach would address the decision afterward, but Michigan linebacker Cameron McGrone told reporters, “It was kind of a smack in the face. But it is what it is. It’s football. We’ve got to be ready all times, and we weren’t ready that play.’’
The Division I Council approved a proposal last year requiring FBS schools to conduct camps or clinics at school facilities regularly used for practice or competition and FBS coaches and non-coaching staff members with responsibilities specific to football may be employed only at their school’s camps or clinics. But the NCAA Division I Board of Director rescinded that ban in early May and SEC coaches reluctantly started taking part in satellite camps.
