From lack of discipline to ‘players who look disconnected,’ Paul Finebaum pulled no punches Monday when discussing Alabama’s 24-17 loss to rival Tennessee.
ESPN college football analyst Paul Finebaum has his knives out for the Alabama Crimson Tide and coach Kalen DeBoer following their 24-17 loss to the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium.
During his weekly appearance on McElroy & Cubelic In The Morning with hosts Greg McElroy and Cole Cubelic on Birmingham’s WJOX-FM Monday morning, Finebaum pulled no punches.
“I’m bewildered by everything I’ve seen, and I’m certainly even more concerned about the leadership of Kalen DeBoer,” Finebaum said. “We can talk technical aspects of games, and I know you guys have and will, but I don’t see much on the sideline. I see players who look disconnected. They’re undisciplined.
“Whether this is a continuum of last year, I’ll leave it to others to determine, but this season is clearly on the brink. Everyone knows what the calculus is and remains. It’s not impossible. There’s still a narrow window, but it’s hard for me to believe that Alabama is going to find a way to get to the playoffs based on what I’ve seen over the last three weeks.”
McElroy, who called Saturday’s game for ABC, said that he felt Alabama’s defense had improved against Tennessee. Finebaum didn’t seem to buy it and argued that if Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava had been more accurate, Tennessee “would have scored 40 points.”
Iamaleava missed several open targets in Saturday’s game and was picked off by cornerback Jaylen Mbakwe on an ugly pass midway through the second quarter.
Cubelic asked Finebaum to elaborate on his comments about Alabama’s leadership under DeBoer.
“It’s the discipline,” Finebaum said. “Listen, two years ago, we had the same conversations about the penalties in the loss at Neyland, and here we are again. And I know everyone will harp on the (Kendrick Law) penalty and that was the one that finished the game off to a certain degree. But to me, it’s just more of the same.
“And by the way, I’m being critical of Kalen DeBoer (but) we didn’t dare criticize Nick Saban two years ago when they had 15 or 17 penalties. Maybe we should have.”
Finebaum added that he believed Alabama fans needed “something to wrap their arms around” going forward.
“The next couple of weeks can give them that. To think that Alabama has to run the table, they had to do that last year, and they did. I’ve seen crazier things from Alabama teams than beating a Missouri team that is imminently beatable and an LSU team that has some flaws, although they’re playing better.
“And also, recruiting matters. Whatever happens during the season, what you do immediately after the season in recruiting will help fans feel a lot better about the future.”
On3 ranks Alabama No. 1 in its class of 2025 recruiting rankings while 247Sports ranks the Crimson Tide at No. 2.
Alabama is ranked No. 15 in this week’s US LBM Coaches Poll. The Tide will host No. 17 Missouri at Bryant-Denny Stadium Saturday. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. The game will be televised on ABC.
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