In a weekend filled with SEC surprises, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum didn’t hold back on his assessment of Georgia and LSU following their disappointing losses.
Georgia suffered a surprising 28-10 loss to Ole Miss, while LSU fell to Alabama in a lopsided 42-13 blowout.
Finebaum, appearing on The Matt Barrie Show, bluntly assessed the two programs’ struggles, praising Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin’s strategic success while lambasting LSU’s no-show outing.
Reflecting on Georgia’s surprising defeat, Finebaum described the game as a display of dominance by Ole Miss and credited Kiffin’s ability to build a legitimate national title contender.
“It was a bludgeoning,” Finebaum said. “And to watch Georgia, you know, just being disemboweled was almost scary to the eyes, but Kiffin build our program after losing to Saban every year and finally, last year, last November, Matt, just getting just blown apart by more than 30 points in Athens.
“He decided ‘I can’t do this anymore.’ And you know, he ended up getting 17 starters from transfers, and his football team is amazing. … I don’t know how they’ve lost the game this year.
“They easily could be the No. 1 team in the country had they not just completely wasted the Kentucky game and melted down in Tiger Stadium, but they’re still one of the best teams in the country, and it’s hard to imagine a more dangerous team heading into the final couple weeks of the season.”
Georgia now faces an uphill climb to the College Football Playoff, needing wins over Tennessee, UMass, and Georgia Tech to maintain any hopes of competing for a national title.
Finebaum’s critique of LSU was even sharper, as he questioned their performance and head coach Brian Kelly’s reputation for success at night games in Tiger Stadium.
“Truly one of the more embarrassing performances I have seen from a major contender in a long time,” Finebaum said. “They had everything – how many times did we hear that Brian Kelly hasn’t lost at night in Tiger Stadium? Well, that happened last night.”
Finebaum continued to highlight Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe’s influence on the game, contrasting it with LSU’s failures.
“They were only down 42-6. I’m sure they had a chance to come back, and they did with 11 seconds to go to make the score, well, it wasn’t really respectable. But it was all about Jalen Milroe. Nobody’s burying him. He is alive and kicking, and so is Alabama’s chances of getting to the playoffs.”
With the loss, LSU’s pathway to the College Football Playoff has essentially closed. They now look to regroup and finish the season with strong performances against Florida, Vanderbilt, and Oklahoma.
What are your thoughts on the losses by both Georgia and LSU?
At the end of the day, who do you think are the two teams we’ll see competing in the SEC Championship Game???
