Alabama wanted to play Auburn, Tennessee, and Mississippi State every year, but with Tennessee having a horrible decade that wasn’t a balanced schedule so they drop MSU and subbed in LSU which just so happens to have been the biggest game over the last decade. Saban was pissed that they were the only team playing 3 teams that have won BCS/CFP titles.
Part of what messes with the model is that aggy is in the SEC’s top 8 conferences winning percentage while Tennessee is not so that messes with it when you look at it like Saban does but overall Tennessee has been dog shit for a decade so they shouldn’t get credit for them.
Regardless he’s changed his tuned on it, which is great for the conference. Here’s what he said this week about LSU (and said something similar about TN this year as well):
"I think this is a great game that has tremendous fan interest,” Saban said on Wednesday's SEC teleconference. “It's been a great game for however long I've been here. They've got a great atmosphere, and we've got a great atmosphere at our stadium. Both fan bases look forward to the game. I think as many of these fan-interest, rivalry games, whatever you want to call them, that we can keep over time is beneficial to the conference and beneficial to the players who play the game."