Tag: Paul Finebaum

Paul Finebaum criticizes Kirby Smart for ‘out of line’ behavior

SEC analyst Paul Finebaum was not happy with Kirby Smart’s comment to SEC commissioner Sankey.

Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart is known for being outspoken. After Georgia’s victory over Texas in the SEC championship, that outspoken side of him showed when he took a shot at SEC commissioner Greg Sankey.

“It means rest for a team that Greg Sankey and his staff sent on the road all year long,” Smart said. “We get to take a little bit of a break and get ready for the College Football Playoff. This team needs some rest mentally, needs a little time off.”

Georgia has played a tough schedule on the road this year. Both of the Bulldogs losses came against Alabama and Ole Miss on the road, and the Bulldogs’ first game against Texas was also on the road.

Sankey did not appreciate the shot. Cameras showed him scowling at Smart after the comment. SEC football analyst Paul Finebaum didn’t appreciate it either.

“I think everybody knows my affinity for Kirby Smart, but I, frankly, thought he was out of line for blasting the commissioner standing right next to him, presenting the trophy,” Finebaum said on Monday. “What was the point of taking a cheap shot at the commissioner of the SEC who did not do that schedule?”

“… For Kirby Smart who rarely makes an error, I thought it was really below the belt. Can you not say that without calling out the guy next to you who’s handing out the championship trophy?”

For what it’s worth, Georgia will play Ole Miss, Alabama, and Texas at home in 2025. Still, judging by Sankey’s body language, the SEC commissioner was not happy about the comment.

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Paul Finebaum blasts Warde Manuel, says Alabama football ‘got jobbed’ by CFP committee

Paul Finebaum unloads on Warde Manuel and the selection committee.

Did the selection committee get it right by favoring the SMU Mustangs over the Alabama Crimson Tide for the final at-large berth in this year’s 12-team College Football Playoff?

That’s a topic being discussed around college football after the series of events that led to Alabama (9-3 overall) missing the CFP for just the third time since the playoff’s original four-team debut in 2014.

At least one prominent college football analyst thinks the committee made the wrong choice. ESPN and SEC Network commentator Paul Finebaum appeared on “Get Up” with host Mike Greenberg Monday morning. Finebaum was asked if he believed the committee had made the right call by picking SMU over Alabama.

“I don’t, Greeny, but I also don’t want to waste the audience’s time with a lot of fake outrage. SMU has a very good record (but) they don’t have a very good resume. Alabama has a good resume and record, but they also have so many bad moments that I think they cost themselves.”

Finebaum mentioned Alabama’s brutal 24-3 loss on Nov. 23 to an Oklahoma Sooners team that finished 6-6. It was a game the Crimson Tide were heavily favored to win. Instead, Alabama failed to score a touchdown in a game for the first time since 2011.

Greenberg said that he believed the committee had no choice but to take SMU after the Mustangs reached their conference championship game. He claimed that, had Alabama been ahead of SMU in the final CFP rankings, it would have set a precedent and led to a scenario where teams would begin “boycotting or forfeiting” conference championship games.

“This was a decision that was made last Tuesday much more than it was made (Sunday),” Greenberg said.

Finebaum agreed and singled out Warde Manuel by saying that the CFP committee chairman “completely blew it.”

“The biggest problem this committee had is that Warde Manuel, the athletic director at Michigan, got up on Tuesday night and completely blew it. He said things that committee chairmen never say… He put a road block up and he essentially said what you alluded to.

“And the reason why the committee went in their direction is there are people that represent college football and, to make it easy for the audience, conference championship games bring in tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars, and (the committee) would have, in essence, issued a Supreme Court ruling by saying that they are null and void.”

Finebaum closed by saying that Alabama got “jobbed,” but he added that the Crimson Tide had no one to blame but themselves.

He also offered a prediction on the future of conference championship games moving forward.

“So Alabama got jobbed, but again, Alabama did it to themselves. (The committee) preserved the conference championship games at least for another year, but they’re not going to be around long. You and I both know that.”

Alabama will face Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Dec. 31 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT. The game will be televised by ESPN.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Alabama news and notes, plus opinions. 

Paul Finebaum believes one SEC championship team is vulnerable

Why Paul Finebaum thinks the Texas Longhorns are vulnerable

The No. 2 Texas Longhorns (11-1) are favorites to win the SEC over the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs (10-2). Texas has looked like the SEC’s team to beat since Georgia’s loss to Ole Miss.

However, SEC analyst Paul Finebaum does not think Texas is invincible. He mentioned on “The Paul Finebaum Show” that the Longhorns are vulnerable due to the strength of their schedule.

“Texas is vulnerable because of what it hasn’t done,” Finebaum said. “That’s, beat, what I’d call, a high-level team.”

Texas’s strength of schedule ranks 37th, according to ESPN’s Football Power Index. The Longhorns benefited from playing a Florida team without their top two quarterbacks and played one team that finished over .500 in SEC play outside of Georgia (Texas A&M).

Most importantly, their only matchup against a team currently ranked in the playoff rankings was Georgia, which they lost to at home, 30-15.

Georgia has the third-ranked SOS. The Bulldogs have shown weakness against Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi State and Georgia Tech. Still, Georgia won by double digits against two teams in the top 10 (Tennessee and, of course, Texas).

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Texas and Georgia play each other in the SEC championship. Either Texas wins, avenging its previous loss to Georgia, or Georgia racks up another win against a top-10 opponent.

Paul Finebaum has hot take on Ohio State head coach Ryan Day

Paul Finebaum, has an opinion on Ryan Day. #GoBucks

It is pretty painful for those around Columbus to believe that the Ohio State football team — almost three-score favorites, lost to the Michigan Wolverines on Saturday.

Not only did Ryan Day and company fall short, but they’ve failed to come out on top for now four-straight years.

The Buckeyes had their most experienced, most talented, and most expensive squad in recent history and couldn’t get the job done against a five-loss Michigan side. That’s embarrassing.

Many are calling for Day’s job, but there’s still redemption that could be had in the College Football Playoff. He also appears to have the backing of AD Ross Bjork.

However, Paul Finebaum isn’t buying stock in Day if he loses in the first round, and he’s still skeptical even if he makes a run in the CFP.

“First-round knockout? I’d fire him on the field before he gets to the midfield,” Finebaum said. “I still think he probably ought to go.”

The Buckeyes have all the pieces to reign supreme, and they have a roster built by Day and his staff.

They needed to come out on top Saturday, and they failed to do so. It’ll be interesting if Day’s job can be saved even if he wins in the first and second rounds in the coming weeks.

Paul Finebaum unloads on Kalen DeBoer after ‘inexcusable’ Alabama loss

Finebaum doesn’t pull any punches when discussing Alabama’s 24-3 loss to Oklahoma.

ESPN college football analyst Paul Finebaum has Alabama football coach Kalen DeBoer in his crosshairs.

Such is life in the SEC when you lose to an unranked team by three touchdowns on the road, as the Crimson Tide did in a brutal 24-3 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday night in Norman. Alabama had been a two-touchdown favorite entering the night.

Appearing on “The Matt Barrie Show” Sunday morning, Finebaum said that Alabama’s loss to the Sooners was “inexcusable” and added that the Crimson Tide “didn’t look like they had a clue.”

“Let me cut to the chase: it was simply inexcusable. And you can blame anyone you want, but you would be smart to start at the very top because that team did not look prepared. They didn’t look focused. They didn’t look like they had a clue what they were getting into, and I don’t know how that could be the case because everyone who watches football knew that Brent Venables had an elite defense. They just have no offense because of all the wide receivers being hurt and chaos at quarterback. I just don’t understand it.”

Alabama (8-3) settled for a 3-0 lead early after squandering a red-zone opportunity following a big catch from Ryan Williams at the Oklahoma (6-5) 11-yard line. But the Crimson Tide offense fizzled the rest of the night and never made it back to the red zone against a smothering Sooners defense.

Jalen Milroe was 11-of-26 passing for 164 yards with three interceptions. He had 15 carries for just seven yards as Alabama’s rushing attack was held to 70 yards on 30 carries. Milroe’s 49-yard pick six to Kip Lewis on Alabama’s second possession of the third quarter opened the floodgates and gave Oklahoma a 24-3 lead.

Alabama came into the game at No. 7 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings and had positioned itself for a run to the SEC Championship Game. But after Saturday’s loss, Finebaum is perplexed as to why anyone would consider Alabama a playoff team.

“That loss was a body blow, and I know what my good friend Heather Dinich is saying, (that) there is a path for Alabama and maybe there will be. But the real question is why? I mean, I don’t understand how Alabama can be considered a legitimate playoff team. And I realize that there are probably schools in there that aren’t legitimate, either, but they’ve lost to Vanderbilt, a five-loss team, and now Oklahoma, a five-loss team. If you were looking at a chart of the SEC, they’re probably 12 and 13 out of the 16 in the league, and the other loss is at Tennessee. I know who they have a win against: possibly the SEC champion (Georgia). But please. If they get in, good for them. I’ll be happy and everybody will sing Kumbaya, but are they really a playoff team after what we saw on Saturday night? I mean, that was just hard to wrap my arms around.

“In the middle of the night, I’m getting texts from old-time Alabama fans that are going, ‘What have we gotten ourselves into?’ Because this is the same Alabama team — actually, it’s not — it’s a worse Alabama team than we saw against Vanderbilt. I mean, this team was completely clueless.’

Alabama fell six spots to No. 13 in the Week 13 US LBM Coaches Poll. The Crimson Tide host the Auburn Tigers next Saturday in the 89th edition of the Iron Bowl. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CT at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The game will be televised on ABC.

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Paul Finebaum roasts selection committee, thinks UGA should be angry

“This committee is not serious,” said ESPN college football expert Paul Finebaum.

ESPN college football expert Paul Finebaum does not like where the College Football Playoff selection committee has ranked the Georgia Bulldogs.

Finebaum thinks that Georgia has the biggest right to be angry following the most recent playoff rankings. Georgia has the nation’s best strength of schedule and has gone 3-2 against top 20 teams in the committee’s own rankings. Georgia faced four of these five teams away from home.

“(In the playoff rankings) You saw Georgia’s opponents all over the place including, Texas, the No. 3 team in the country,” said Finebaum. “When you look at everyone else, Indiana doesn’t have a ranked team. They’ll get one this weekend. Penn State has lost to one.”

Yes, Georgia has two losses, but the Bulldogs have played a lot of great teams.

Finebaum went on to criticize the selection committee. “This committee is not serious. There are football coaches on this committee and there is no way those football coaches can tell me or anyone else with a straight face that they really think Indiana, Penn State, Miami, schools like that are better than Georgia. It is not possible,” Finebaum said.

We have to agree with Finebaum. Georgia would probably blowout this trio of teams with the exception of Penn State. However, we can’t envision Penn State scoring much against Georgia. In fact, none of Indiana, Miami or Penn State have scored an offensive touchdown against a team in the committee’s top 20 rankings team all season.

Lane Kiffin is still thanking Paul Finebaum for getting him fired at USC

Thank Finebaum for harsh criticisms?

Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin is once again thanking ESPN college football personality Paul Finebaum for “getting him fired” at USC.

Like he did over the summer, Kiffin discussed with Finebaum the latter’s infamous 2013 criticism of the former from his time at USC as the Miley Cyrus of college football.

Of course, Kiffin was fired from his USC job in 2013 soon after those comments and then joined Nick Saban and Alabama as that team’s offensive coordinator. The rest is history, leading up to Kiffin’s Ole Miss upsetting Georgia this past Saturday.

Kiffin once again credited that chain of events to Finebaum, who of course isn’t the main reason Kiffin got fired at USC but probably didn’t help matters with his pointed, public commentary.

“I wouldn’t have been here to have the Georgia win if you wouldn’t have got me fired at USC,” Kiffin told Finebaum, who laughed at the comment. “Again, I’m grateful to you, Paul. Thanks for that day. Thanks for the Miley Cyrus comment.”

Both seemed to be in good spirits during the moment, and it looks like they’ve mostly buried the hatchet over one of the more infamous disses in recent college football history.

You can still detect a little salt from Kiffin, but this is probably as amicable as it’s going to get between these two.

Feature image courtesy of ESPN. 

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Paul Finebaum believes Georgia Bulldogs face playoff eliminator

SEC analyst believes the Georgia Bulldogs are in must win game against Tennessee

After the Georgia Bulldogs’ 28-10 loss to Ole Miss, Georgia has a lot on the line coming into this game. According to SEC football analyst Paul Finebaum, that could include their chance at the College Football Playoff.

“They’re a program that has been up and down this year,” explained Finebaum on Saturday Down South, “For the first time, they are now in a Playoff eliminator at home against Tennessee. It’s a monster game.”

Georgia suffered their second loss of the season against Ole Miss last Saturday, the first one against Alabama. It doubled as their second SEC loss of the year, and with Texas A&M and Texas only having one SEC loss. Ole Miss and Alabama are tied with Georgia with two losses. Georgia is in no-mans land for the SEC championship race.

If they were to lose to No. 6 Tennessee, they’ll have three losses, and, since 2020, only two teams with three losses have been in the top 12 after Week 14.

Currently, Georgia has a 74% chance to make the postseason, according to ESPN, but they currently have a 61.8% of winning the Tennessee game right now, and if they lose, they’ll be in the pool of three-loss teams in the SEC.

LSU and South Carolina have less than a 14% chance at making the playoff and even two-loss team Texas A&M has just a 14.3% chance too. With a loss versus Tennessee, Georgia could see themselves out of the top 12 rankings since 2017, Kirby Smart’s second year as head coach.

Paul Finebaum blasts Brian Kelly, ‘irrelevant’ LSU after loss to Alabama

Paul Finebaum went off on Brian Kelly and LSU after an ’embarrassing’ loss to Alabama.

Not much went right for the LSU Tigers in their 45-13 blowout loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday night.

Jalen Milroe had a lights-out performance in Tiger Stadium, rushing for 185 yards and four touchdowns on 12 carries for Alabama’s latest win in Baton Rouge. All-time, the Crimson Tide have lost nine times at Tiger Stadium since it first opened 100 years ago this season.

On Sunday, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum teed off on the Tigers and third-year coach Brian Kelly. Finebaum labeled LSU’s performance against Alabama as “embarrassing” during an appearance on ESPN’s ‘SportsCenter.’ He also said the Tigers’ “relevancy is over.”

“Dearly beloved, let us say goodbye to LSU for the season. Their relevancy is over. Truly one of the most embarrassing performances I have seen from a major contender in a long time. They had everything. How many times did we hear (that) Brian Kelly hasn’t lost at night in Tiger Stadium? Well, that happened (Saturday). I mean, they were only down 42-6. I’m sure they had a chance to come back and they did — with 11 seconds to go to make the score, well, not really respectable.”

Finebaum said the game was “all about Jalen Milroe.”

“Nobody is burying him,” Finebaum said. “He is alive and kicking, and so is Alabama’s chances of getting to the playoffs.”

RELATED: How far did Alabama climb in new Coaches Poll after throttling LSU on wild Saturday?

Alabama will host the Mercer Bears from the FCS ranks at Bryant-Denny Stadium Saturday. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. CT. The game can be seen on SEC Network+/ESPN+.

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What the media is saying ahead of Georgia-Ole Miss

Several media outlets share their opinions on Georgia Bulldogs football ahead of their game at Ole Miss

Throughout the season, the Georgia Bulldogs have been a massive talking point for any college sports show. Georgia is 7-1 and atop the SEC, but many folks are wondering about their staying power as SEC champions.

Georgia has a loss to No. 11 Alabama (6-2) and close wins against Kentucky (3-6), Mississippi State (2-7) and Florida (4-4).

Much of the media buzz has been around Carson Beck, who has struggled mightily with six interceptions in his last two games. A great deal of praise has been given to the defensive side of the ball: KJ Bolden, Mykel Williams and Jalon Walker have gained recognition.

Ahead of the 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff on Saturday, here are some media takes about Georgia or the matchup between UGA and Ole Miss:

Paul Finebaum believes this game is big for Lane Kiffin

Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports

Via the DawgNation podcast, Paul Finebaum gave his thoughts on the game, hinting this will be a referendum on Lane Kiffin’s career.

“Ultimately, I think this is the biggest game of Lane Kiffin’s career. He has a chance to come closer to punching his ticket to the College Football Playoff, or letting it all slip away. You’re going to hear about this in the game in Baton Rouge, but this is really about the opportunity for Ole Miss.”

Uncle Lou on Bleacher Report shares opinion on Carson Beck

On Bleacher Report, Uncle Lou went on his show to discuss the Bulldogs, and he had an interesting take on Carson Beck.

“The turnovers are obviously a problem. You just can’t talk about Georgia without addressing it. It’s just mind numbing, and it’s hard to understand why. It’s like a golfer with the yips. If you look at him last year, there’s a reason why every single top returning quarterback list anyone put out had Carson Beck on it. There’s a reason why he was considered a top-10 pick, potentially No. 1! But he’s far from that now, looking at third- or fourth-round pick. He might be the worst quarterback in the SEC.”

SI names Georgia players to watch

Jackson Harris of Sports Illustrated named some Georgia players that could have a big impact on the Ole Miss game.

Wide receiver Dillon Bell

“Bell is a do-it-all player for the Georgia Bulldogs, lining up in the backfield, slot, and out wide with the ability to hit a big play every time he gets the ball.”

Safety Malaki Starks

“The strong safety for the Dawgs is one of the leaders of this defense, and he has been all over the field to start 2024. Starks tallied two tackles for loss in the loss to Alabama but was a key part of the victory in Austin, racking up seven total tackles and one TFL.”

Linebacker Jalon Walker

“Walker was a man amongst boys in the win over Texas, tallying three sacks and absolutely harassing the Longhorn offensive line. The Rebels offensive line hasn’t been great but has improved in pass protection in the past two weeks. To really have a chance on Saturday, however, the Rebels need to find a running game.”