The aim of any preemptive strike is to catch the enemy unsuspecting, defenses down. And so with the University of Oregon focused on winning the

day

late-evening against Washington this weekend, Alabama coach Nick Saban blasted

right between the eyes on Friday.

The coach of the No. 1-ranked team didn't mention the nation's No. 2-ranked team by name. But he didn't need to -- everyone knows Saban was talking about UO when he said fast-paced offenses are ruining college football.

Said Saban: "The way people are going no-huddle right now, that at some point in time we should look at how fast we allow the game to go in terms of player safety. The team gets into formation and you can't substitute defensive players. You go on a 14-, 16-, 18-play drive and they're snapping the ball as fast as you can go, and you look out there and all your players are walking around and can't get lined up, and that's when guys have a much greater chance of getting hurt when they're not ready to play."

To that, I offer, pffffffffffffffft!

First of all, Saban might as well name names. He's talking about Oregon, and coach

, and undoubtedly doing what the mainstream college-football bullies do when they see a wrinkle approaching. Saban doesn't mind playing fast, as long as his team is victorious. What he minds is the potential for Oregon's offensive scheme to unwind Alabama's lock-tight season.

Saban must be bored with his weekly competition. Also, studying the successful mantra laid down by Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, who plants a preemptive seed with officials like nobody else. Also, scared out of his mind of the Ducks.

I get it.

Saban would like everyone to line up, take their time, and run straight ahead. You know, no funny business. Just to ensure that the bigger, stronger, faster opponent (as Saban's teams often are) wins every time. The Ducks aren't better than Alabama at more than a couple of positions. Most teams aren't. And so Saban, who is so transparent it's laughable, is already scheming for how he might neutralize Oregon in a potential national championship game.

Seeing Oregon go fast on offense must make Saban, and I'm sure other perennial bullies, uncomfortable in the way Princeton was in 1876 when Yale's Walter Camp threw a forward pass to Oliver Thompson. Thing is, Oregon's offensive scheme is not only innovative and effective, but also perfectly legal.

There is no grey area. There is no rule subject to interpretation. The Ducks are snapping the ball and running plays just like everyone else. They just do it faster, and with so much speed in the backfield that Washington coach Steve Sarkisian laughed at me this week on the other end of the phone when I suggested Oregon might have lost a step on offense without Darron Thomas and LaMichael James.

"You're not in the exact right place," Sarkisian said, "and it's not a 10-, 12-yard gain -- they go 50, 60 yards for a touchdown."

The significance of Saban's remarks shouldn't be missed. Even as he didn't talk about Oregon by name, everyone knew he was talking about the Ducks. Oregon has played in back-to-back-to-back Bowl Championship Series games, and is coming off a Rose Bowl victory, but there might not be a bigger sign that the program has arrived in the true fiefdom of college football than Saban's arrogant whining.

It's not that Saban doesn't think he can compete with Oregon. He has loads of talent and so much depth I suspect Alabama's second team could easily win the Pac-12 South. The real rub is that Saban is obviously worried that his first team of superior athletes, hailing from the great and dominant Southeastern Conference, might somehow be derailed by a sideshow act.

Alabama's coach even played the injury card. He trotted out the, "in terms of player safety," line, which ends up laughable. He's concerned about player safety? Saban? This is the guy nicknamed "The Nick-tator" who, according to a former player Heath Evans, once stepped over a convulsing offensive lineman during training camp two-a-day practices without looking back.

There's no data that suggests players are injured at a higher rate during no-huddle plays. There's no science attached to the notion that players, enduring a fast-paced drive, on either side of the ball, are more prone to injury. Fake injuries have been used as a crutch for teams that couldn't keep up, but in no way does playing fast equate to a player safety issue.

More like a job-safety issue for Saban.

Saban is clever. Give him that. The damage is done. His comments will linger, and Kelly will undoubtedly be asked about it. The NCAA rules committee will be asked about it, officials everywhere will hear the comments, and come bowl season, if we end up with No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 2 Oregon, you can bet it will be the prevailing storyline for a month leading into the national championship game.

Playing fast isn't spoiling anything here. But the whining is.

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