HOOVER, Ala. -- It was only a matter of time before Nick Saban's anger boiled over. Why haven't Cam Robinson and Laurence "Hootie" Jones been suspended? And to Saban's way of thinking, it was an internal matter -- as in, none of your business. They were arrested on drug and weapons charges, but there was more to the story, he said. He did his best to remind everyone the district attorney didn't prosecute for a reason and that, philosophically, sometimes sitting a player isn't the best form of discipline.

By now you've seen the video of Saban and SEC Network personality Paul Finebaum getting into it on live TV. After saying he doesn't care what the critics think and defending his decision, a frustrated Saban closes with, "That's the end of the conversation."

The problem for Saban is that it wasn't the end of it. That was pretty much the entire topic of conversation Wednesday. Even Arkansas coach Bret Bielema made mention of it in his opening remarks, saying, "You don't have to ask me if we're going to suspend anybody for the first game." Near the end of Saban's rounds with the media, it felt as if for the first time ever he'd rather talk about who's leading at quarterback. (Spoiler: They're all even.)

Here's the thing, though: No one is particularly worried about who starts under center. Predicting the outcome of that position battle has been a pointless exercise the last two seasons. The end result has been the same, with an underrated veteran developing overnight into a 3,000-yard passer and SEC champion. Whether it's stud sophomore Calvin Ridley at receiver or an up-and-coming tailback in Bo Scarbrough, there's a belief that there's more than enough on offense to support whomever the quarterback might be.

Off-field drama became the theme of Wednesday because Alabama, on the field, is mostly drama-free. The Tide were favorites to win the SEC and return to the playoff before Saban said his All-SEC left tackle, Robinson, would have a chance to play in the season-opener against USC. Now that he let that slip, the gap between No. 1 and No. 2 appears much wider.

Yes, Alabama lost a lot from last year's team, but not as much as you'd expect. That's why the first question to their player reps was, "What are you doing here and why aren't you in the NFL right now?" Defensive end Jonathan Allen had double-digit sacks and was a first-round pick on many mock drafts before he announced that he'd return to school. It wasn't as much of a shock that safety Eddie Jackson and tight end O.J. Howard came back, but turning pro early was on the table as Jackson tied for the league lead in interceptions and Howard finished strong with 267 yards and three touchdowns in the playoff.

With a solid core of veterans and a slew of blue-chip recruits coming through the pipeline, another successful season seems like a foregone conclusion. A loaded defense, with Tim Williams back at linebacker and Daron Payne coming into his own at tackle, is expected to lead the way once again. Allen said the team's goal is 10 sacks a game. Jackson said he wants to break the school record for interceptions with 11. That's confidence for you.

Howard said the Tide consider themselves the team to beat.

"We have the confidence, and we know we have the talent to do it," he said. "The target is on our back once again."

Hence the grilling of Saban. Everyone was looking for Alabama's weak spot, and the potential for Robinson's suspension could have been it. Without an anchor at left tackle, maybe the quarterback situation doesn't work itself out, maybe Scarbrough doesn't develop into the star many expected and maybe the Tide finally take a back seat to the likes of LSU or Ole Miss.

When Saban took that storyline off the table, the conversation changed. He wanted to talk about football, only no one wanted to hear it.

Bielema grabs the mic

Bielema might have saved an otherwise bland media days when he took the stage. If nothing else, he made his case for being the league's most entertaining coach now that Steve Spurrier is gone.

• On the cancellation of Arkansas-Michigan matchup: "A lot goes into it. I get it. I understand how the SEC -- I'm sorry, the Michigan-Notre Dame thing sounds sexy to everybody else, but I think Michigan and Arkansas sounds sexy. I was very excited about Big Ten versus SEC."

• More "sexy" talk: "At Arkansas we're not built very sexy, we're just kind of a work in progress. We need a lot of time in the bathroom to get ready and come out and look great."

• Picking fights with Kevin Sumlin: "Last year, when we got done with the game and we're walking across to shake hands, he said, 'I don't know what to say.' I said, 'Don't say anything, I might punch you.' But it's just one of those, it's a great rival. I think our kids really respect one another."

• No dice, Kirby: "First, [Smart] wanted to talk to my offensive coordinator and try to take Dan Enos. I said, 'I appreciate it, but there's a thing called the SEC clause. You can't have him.' I kind of stuck my tongue out, wiggled my nose and felt good about it."

Not to be outdone, Kentucky coach Mark Stoops provided some entertainment of his own in the afternoon session.

"Bret, he's a beauty," he said. "I think he was in here entertaining you guys earlier, right? But I'll tell you a story about Bret. I just said it out there to some of the guys. I better be careful. Don't get in a pissing contest with a skunk. Right?

"But you got Bret -- big, big, strong guy. ... Two years in a row, we split a room up there where we kind of settled in and they were coming in and we were getting out of there. And two years in a row, Bret ... he's got [tiny] dogs in there yapping at your ankles in there. So you have to bust his chops about his tiny dogs.”

-- Greg Ostendorf

Wild day for Missouri

On a day that was supposed to be relatively quiet for Missouri, first-year coach Barry Odom ascended into the ranks of the weird at SEC media days.

Just as Odom was finishing up one of his first interviews of the day, news broke about athletic director Mack Rhoades leaving Mizzou for Baylor.

"That's life in college athletics," Odom said. "Do I like it? No, but does my focus at all change? Absolutely not.

"I'm not going to spend a lot of time thinking about that. My singular focus is going to be on this football team and getting us moving in the right direction.

Welcome to being a collegiate head coach, Barry Odom, and welcome to joining the mayhem of media days in the South that has produced Phillip Fulmer being served a subpoena and the Head Ball Coach leaving Tim Tebow off his All-SEC team.

Not even eight months as head coach, and Odom has already dealt with the dismissal of former starting quarterback Maty Mauk, the suspension of star DT Terry Beckner Jr. after an arrest, mending racial gaps on his own campus, and now the departure of the man who hired him.

"We've learned, and we're trying to make Mizzou better," Odom said. "Let's work on our relationship [on campus], let's work on how we can be better than what's going on in society."

Odom also updated the status of defensive lineman Harold Brantley, who missed all of the 2015 season following a horrendous car accident that led to five surgeries. Odom said Brantley is up to 270 pounds, but at one point his weight dropped to less than 200 pounds.

Brantley was listed at 290 pounds last year.

"If we were playing on Saturday, he wouldn't be ready to play, but he's so much closer today than he was two months ago," Odom said. "Really, if he can get there, it will be a remarkable story. And I don't care if he makes a tackle ever again. But if he gets back to playing and functioning, healthy and happy, it will be a great story."

-- Edward Aschoff