ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 08: Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide reacts to a play during the second half against the Georgia Bulldogs in the CFP National Championship presented by AT&T at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 8, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Alabama football has steered away from home-and-home series under Nick Saban. Does their newest opponent signal the last days of Saban in Tuscaloosa?

The first few weeks of the college football season are always filled with an array of tantalizing non-conference showdowns between the game’s most marquee programs. 2018 will be no different. Michigan plays at Notre Dame, Clemson plays at Texas A&M, Virginia Tech plays at Florida State.

Alabama plays Louisville, but the venue will be at a neutral field, Camping World Stadium in Orlando, FL. The Crimson Tide have been so dominant over the past decade that many have overlooked one of their interesting scheduling quirks. Nick Saban doesn’t do home-and-homes. The SEC is grueling enough as it is, why add a challenging true road game to the slate when you don’t have to?

A host of elite programs have appeared on Alabama’s schedule during the Saban era. The list is impressive and includes blue blood programs like Florida State (2017), USC (2016), Michigan (2012) and Clemson (2008). Alabama has played one meaningful home-and-home series under Nick Saban, sweeping a pair of games against Penn State in 2010 and 2011.

Saban is anything but naive. He’s figured out the formula for success. The dawning of the College Football Playoff has only tightened up the Tide’s strategy. Alabama is going to play LSU, Auburn and the SEC East Champion almost every season under Saban. A second loss has dealt crushing blows to more than one playoff hopeful and Saban has been diligent in limiting the opportunities for his team to stumble.

Recently, however, the Crimson Tide broke form and scheduled a home-and-home game with Texas starting in 2022. This could mean one of two things: either Saban has relaxed his policy or he doesn’t intend to coach in these games. It’s unlikely that someone as disciplined as Saban decided to loosen up in his older age. The six-time champion has to retire sooner or later, and he’ll turn 70 years old in the fall of 2021.

2021 seems a long ways off, but it’s enough time for Saban to add one more championship to the belt. If he doesn’t that he’ll cement himself as the greatest coach in college football history. Then he can ride off into the sunset — and never play a home-and-home ever again.