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Paul Finebaum knows college football history and he really knows Alabama football history, so the ESPN college football analyst has a strong foundation of knowledge as anybody on this planet to properly put into perspective how awful last Saturday’s loss at Vanderbilt truly was.
During his regular Monday morning appearance on the “McElroy & Cubelic in the Morning” show, Finebaum predictably took Alabama to task for the 40-35 loss in Nashville, which dropped the Crimson Tide out of the No. 1 spot in the AP Poll and down to No. 7.
“I said it was one of the worst losses, and what I meant by that is there have been more shocking teams that you’ve lost to in Alabama, but I’m talking as a No. 1 team,” said Finebaum. “That happens so infrequently, and I can’t really wrap my arms around too many (losses) like this. I’ve been to a couple of them over my career and they were against teams like Mississippi State as an unranked team beating Bear Bryant in 1980. Or even a couple years ago with (Texas) A&M.”
Finebaum made sure to give Vanderbilt its proper due. Vandy isn’t the perennial SEC doormat Vandy in 2024. Just ask Missouri, which needed overtime to fend off the Commodores at home 2 weeks earlier.
Vanderbilt is a very respectable 3-2 overall. But their uniforms still say “Vanderbilt,” so Alabama’s loss will still look bad.
“Like it or not, it all has to do with Vanderbilt. We all knew what Vanderbilt has done under (head coach) Clark Lea, but that’s not how the nation views it,” explained Finebaum. “The nation still views Vanderbilt as a punching bag, as a pinata, as something that is tantamount to a middle school. That’s unfair but that’s the reality, and that’s why this particular game has sent shockwaves across the news dial.”
Alabama will look to bounce back on Saturday at home against South Carolina, while Vanderbilt heads to Kentucky for a primetime showdown.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
