Saban vs. Miles: Matchup Could Settle Argument over Who Is Better

Nick Saban is the best coach in college football.  Any Alabama fan will tell you that.  Even opposing fans that hate Saban would agree.  But not LSU fans.  No, they've thrown their lot in completely with Les Miles.  

The Mad Hatter didn't earn his reputation for just being bonkers and eating grass.  No, he's a great coach as well.  His track record speaks for itself.  

Tomorrow evening Nick Saban and Les Miles will face each other for the fifth time at their current schools. They have each won two of the past four outings.  

LSU won their games by a total of 10 points, while Alabama won theirs by 15.  None of the victories were terribly convincing.  They were all close games, and both teams were ranked in the top 25.

There is something a little different about this fifth consecutive battle.  Each of the coaches have what is arguably their best squads to date.  Nick Saban has more of his own recruits than ever, and LSU finally has a quarterback to go with their defense.  

This matchup will feature what is most likely to be the two coaches best teams ever, which is why they are ranked No. 1 and No. 2.  

As before, Nick Saban is regarded as the best coach in college football.  From recruiting to game plans to assistant coach choices, Nick Saban can do it all.  But there is a large crowd making a strong argument that Les Miles is better. 

As a Tide fan, I'd argue against that to the death.  But even the staunchest Alabama fans cannot deny that Les Miles has a strong enough record to be in competition for the title of best coach in college football. The man wins games and brings in top-tier talent, year-in and year-out.  

Miles has a 62-17 record at LSU, and Nick Saban is 51-11 at Alabama.  Some will argue those numbers are a bit skewed.  

Nick Saban inherited a pretty terrible team in 2007, needing a full year to turn it around.  Saban and the Tide have only lost five games since 2007, all of them to quality, ranked teams, 2008 National Champions Florida Gators, surprising undefeated 2008 Sugar Bowl Champions Utah Utes, 2010 SEC East Champions South Carolina , 2010 LSU and 2010 National Champions Auburn Tigers.  

Les Miles, however, stepped into a very good situation, inheriting Nick Saban's LSU team that had just won the national championship.  

He has only lost more than two games in a season twice, but his LSU Tigers have never gone undefeated since he's been the coach, nor have they had only one loss. They even had two losses when they won the national championship in 2007.  

Both of these coaches have proven themselves in more ways than one.  

Nick Saban will likely remain the popular favorite as "best coach in college football," even if the Tide were to lose the big game on Saturday.  But people are starting to run out of reasons as to why Les Miles shouldn't have that title.  

Personally, I don't believe that Les Miles is in the same league as Nick Saban, so to speak.  But he is a stout opponent every year.

Hopefully, Les Miles will make some bonehead calls this weekend, and maybe for once, they'll backfire on him.

His risky calls have to malfunction once in a while, right?