ESPN college football analyst Paul Finebaum isn’t convinced Alabama has turned the corner after their extremely shaky Week 7 performance.
Following a shocking loss to Vanderbilt, the Crimson Tide barely escaped with a 27-25 victory over South Carolina on Saturday, nearly squandering a late lead and surviving a botched onside kick.
Most people expected Kalen DeBoer’s team to come out on fire and send a message to not just the Gamecocks but the entire country.
Instead, the game turned out to be a nailbiter that the Tide were quite fortunate to win.
Despite the victory, Finebaum remains critical of Alabama’s trajectory.
Speaking on The Matt Barrie Show, he expressed growing concerns about the state of the program under DeBoer, whose reputation has plummeted after early success this season.
“Alabama’s season is on the brink,” Finebaum warned, pointing to the team’s upcoming matchup against Tennessee as a pivotal moment.
Finebaum pointed out that some fans are already losing patience with DeBoer, whose early season victories, including a high-profile win over Georgia, now seem less impressive in hindsight.
When Barrie asked Finebaum to name the most disappointing team of the season so far, Finebaum initially joked that Florida State had escaped that label but then delivered a firm answer: Alabama.
“I am going to surprisingly go Alabama,” Finebaum said. “And I say that because they have the biggest win of the year in college football, but it proves somewhat fraudulent to me because of what I thought they would be and what I think they’re going to end up being.”
Finebaum’s disappointment stems from what he sees as an alarming decline in Alabama’s performance, particularly over the last two games.
Earlier in the show, he described the negativity surrounding the program as “intensifying” and “incalculable,” marking a sharp shift from his earlier optimism.
“I realize where we are. We’re seven games into Kalen DeBoer’s first season, and I was the guy two weeks ago that said this team almost looks better coached than we had seen in the last two or three years of Nick Saban,” Finebaum recalled. “But it doesn’t anymore.”
As Alabama faces a tough road ahead with matchups against Tennessee and LSU, Finebaum cast doubt on the team’s ability to reach the College Football Playoff.
“It’s impossible to predict how bad it’s about to get,” he said.
However, despite the scrutiny, Alabama remains ranked No. 7 in the latest AP poll, with only one loss on the season. A win over No. 11 Tennessee at Neyland Stadium could go a long way in silencing critics and reshaping the Crimson Tide’s outlook for the rest of the year.
What are your thoughts on Finebaum’s comments?
Will DeBoer and the Tide be able to turn things around and regain their dominant form in time for the playoffs???