In each of the past two seasons, they’ve collided in the conference championship game, splitting those two contests. This fall, they’ll meet in the regular season for the first time, in addition to that potential SEC title rematch in December.

So at this stage of their careers—with each in his prime, loosely speaking—how do Saban and Meyer compare? Who is currently the best college football coach in the country?

Let’s take an in-depth look as our “47 Days Until College Football” countdown continues.

*Note: Wherever possible, we’ll attempt to limit the scope of the conversation to Meyer and Saban’s accomplishments at their current universities, as this is intended to be an analysis of their newfound rivalry.

Recruiting

Recruiting is all about momentum and “what have you done for me lately.” Since Florida and Alabama are SEC rivals, often competing for the same players, it only makes sense to compare the coaches’ respective track records over the past three classes—when they’ve been going head-to-head on that front with full recruiting seasons with which to work.

Rivals rated Florida’s high school haul as second in 2010, 11th in 2009, and third in 2008.  The same analysts had Alabama fifth in 2010, first in 2009, and first in 2008.

Scout rated Florida first in 2010, 21st in 2009, and 12th in 2008.  The same source had Alabama fourth in 2010, second in 2009, and first in 2008.

Edge: Recruiting is by far the most subjective category we’ll analyze, and in that sense, there is no concrete edge to be awarded. But the rankings say Saban.

Overall FBS Wins & Losses

Meyer

96-18 (.842) in 9 seasons with Bowling Green, Utah, and Florida

57-10 (.851) in 5 seasons with Gators

Saban

119-50-1 (.703) in 14 seasons with Toledo, Michigan State, LSU and Alabama

28-8 (.777) in 3 seasons with Crimson Tide

*Alabama was forced to vacate 5 wins from the 2007 season

Edge: With both having more than 100 games of experience, it’s safe to use winning percentage as the deciding factor. In which case, this category goes to Meyer.

Bowl Record

Often with a month or more to prepare for an opponent, or to be distracted by the layoff, bowl games test virtually every dimension of a coach’s ability.

Meyer is 6-1 in bowl games including four consecutive BCS victories, while Saban carries a 5-6 mark overall with three wins against just one loss in BCS bowls.

Edge: Meyer

Championships

Saban won a MAC title with Toledo (1990), a pair of SEC championships with LSU (2001, 2003), and another SEC crown with Alabama in 2009. He also owns national championships with the Tigers in 2003 and the Tide in 2009.

Totals: 4 conference championships, 2 national titles

Meyer claimed back-to-back MWC titles in 2003-04 with Utah before winning the 2006 and 2008 SEC championships with Florida. The Gators also went on to claim the BCS prize in both seasons.

Totals: 4 conference championships, 2 national titles

Edge: Even if their championship accomplishments were identical, which they aren’t despite the numbers above, Meyer’s accumulated his titles in a shorter amount of time. However, Saban has five SEC West crowns compared to just three division titles for Meyer in the SEC East. This category is just too close to call.

Rivalry Games

What do fans enjoy more than championships?

Bragging rights.

Owning your rival is one of the most powerful accomplishments any college football coach can achieve.  For the purposes of this discussion, we’ll limit the conversation to the coaches’ track records at their current universities, and list Florida’s chief rivals as Georgia, Tennesse, and Florida State.  Meanwhile, Alabama’s annual showdowns include Auburn, Tennessee and LSU.

Meyer at Florida vs. Rivals: 14-1

Saban at Alabama vs. Rivals: 7-2

Edge: Meyer’s record is practically flawless, and he’s maintained it over the course of five seasons.

Head-to-Head

Then again, as a result of recent success, Florida-Alabama has recently grown into the ultimate rivalry game. All that’s lacking is an annual date on the regular season schedule—although in 2010 we’ll get to see the past two BCS winners square off in Tuscaloosa.  It will also mark the first time Saban and Meyer have been on opposing sidelines as head coaches for a regular season contest.

In their first head-to-head meeting in the 2008 SEC Championship, Meyer’s Gators prevailed 31-20 on their way to a BCS title.

Saban’s Tide returned the favor in 2009, claiming the conference championship and the second head-to-head meeting between these coaches, 32-13.

Edge: Theoretically, we could use margin of victory to decide this category, in which case Saban would get the nod. But blowouts aside, wins are wins, and losses are losses. This category is as even as the 1-1 record shows.

Summary

Of the six categories, I have Meyer as a clear-cut winner in three of them, while Saban is awarded one, and two are just too even to call.