Paul Finebaum has expressed doubts about Alabama’s confidence heading into Saturday’s Iron Bowl against Auburn. The SEC Network analyst also questioned whether Kalen DeBoer’s Crimson Tide deserves to be considered a College Football Playoff (CFP) contender. However, Alabama fans haven’t hesitated to push back, using several arguments to make the case for their team’s playoff potential:
- Look at what they did against Georgia
- Look at what they did against LSU
- The CFP committee doesn’t seem to care about logic
- It’s the most talented team Alabama has ever had
- Indiana hasn’t played anybody
- The ACC has three teams in right now, and you’re saying all three should beat Alabama?
- We belong
On Saturday morning, Paul Finebaum sparked conversation by suggesting he was disregarding Alabama’s narrow 27-25 victory over South Carolina earlier this season when evaluating the Crimson Tide’s playoff potential.
“That was six or seven weeks ago,” Finebaum said during SEC Nation. “It was a bizarre game that everyone here knows because they were at the stadium. Alabama barely got through South Carolina.”
Finebaum further elaborated, claiming South Carolina has since shown improvement and, with a win today, could arguably be performing better than other SEC teams in the conversation, such as Alabama, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M.
His comments reignited debate over how much weight early-season games should carry when assessing playoff worthiness, particularly in the context of Alabama’s fluctuating form and the CFP’s broader criteria for selection.
