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Matt Barrie, Paul Finebaum discuss Alabama’s chances to win the SEC, national title
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Matt Barrie believes Alabama should be considered the favorite to win the SEC and the national championship in 2023.
Barrie, while reviewing the week on his show with Paul Finebaum on Sunday, said he was impressed with how Alabama handled LSU on Saturday night in Tuscaloosa.
“It is my contention that not only is Alabama, in my mind, the favorite to win the SEC… I think Alabama is now the favorite to win the national championship,” Barrie said. “Because this is the exact kind of team that Nick Saban wins with. The one that doesn’t have all the glitz and glamour. The one that he really has to coach.
“And after what they did to LSU last night, I’m waiting for someone to change my mind.”
Alabama hasn’t quite clinched a spot in the SEC Championship Game, but the Tide appear to be on a collision course with Georgia for a spot on that stage. Alabama (6-0) holds the tiebreaker over Ole Miss (5-1) so it effectively has a two-game lead on the rest of the SEC West entering Week 11.
Of course, the Bulldogs will have something to say about whether or not Alabama deserves to be considered the favorite. Georgia is the two-time defending national champion and is undefeated this season. UGA is coming off of a strong top-25 home win over Mizzou in Week 10.
Finebaum stopped short of agree that Alabama is the favorite, but he did have some praise for the Tide in response to Barrie’s bold claim.
“Georgia is not a perfect team,” Finebaum said. “I’m not ready to jump ahead 4 weeks, but I can’t find a lot of fault with what you’re saying. As far as Nick Saban is concerned, he’s dialing it up brilliantly.”
Alabama will go on the road to face Kentucky next weekend.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
