Paul Finebaum, Matt Barrie address the ‘conundrum’ at Alabama
By Keith Farner
Published:
Paul Finebaum and Matt Barrie took some time on their podcast to discuss the state of Alabama as coach Nick Saban aims to steer the Crimson Tide back to the College Football Playoff.
After last year’s lobbying to make the CFP, and then an overhaul of the coordinator positions, this is a intriguing season at Alabama, as the SEC West remains competitive and there are multiple competent challengers. And then there’s Georgia on the other side.
“I think the conundrum at Alabama is this Matt: Enormous talent, they’re still recruiting at a very elite level, but, and you can kind of go on for the rest of the day after I say ‘but.’ What happens now?,” Finebaum said. “I think you have to have an honest conversation for podcasts like this, unlike SportsCenter or unlike what I do. You don’t have to put the guest on, and he doesn’t have to say, well, ‘Nick Saban is,’ we all know that, we know who Nick Saban is. The question is, ‘Where is he today?'”
Alabama had a complicated season in 2022, and one that’s not always represented accurately, to Finebaum.
“I feel confident about Alabama this fall, but for all of those people who say, ‘well, they only lost 2 games last year, on the last play,’ they’re not telling the truth,” Finebaum said. “The real picture is they also won 2 games on the last play, won another game in the last 45 seconds, and it could have gone badly.”
Saban escaped, and Finebaum noted that Saban is brilliant at that.
Recalling Barrie’s opening point, Finebaum concluded by saying that the state of Alabama is “puzzling” and that’s being charitable.
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
