Paul Finebaum Reacts To Nick Saban's Comment About Auburn
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - AUGUST 31: Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide walks the field during pregame warmups prior to facing the Duke Blue Devils at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on August 31, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Alabama's schedule hasn't been too daunting this year, especially by SEC West standards. The bottom of that division is quite a bit down this season, and out of conference, the only Power Five that the Crimson Tide faced was Duke, a middling ACC team. Nick Saban's squad did take on the No. 1 LSU Tigers though, dropping its only game of the year thus far.
LSU isn't without its question marks, especially on defense. Still, the Tigers are very likely heading to the College Football Playoff, and may even get in if it loses a close game to Georgia in the SEC title game.
Alabama still has playoff aspirations of its own, even after losing the game to the Tigers, and Tua Tagovailoa to injury for the season. Oregon falling to Arizona State last weekend helps matters, but there are still major obstacles in the Tide's way.
The first order of business is beating Auburn in the Iron Bowl. Ahead of the game, Saban called the three-loss Tigers "the best team we've played, probably, so far this year."
That notion has come under fire, and people (probably rightfully) believe the legendary coach is just trying to convince people that this Iron Bowl win would be impressive enough to push the Tide into conversation for the No. 4 bowl spot.
Paul Finebaum discussed Saban's strategy on Get Up this morning, comparing this to 2017, when Saban spent plenty of time on ESPN stumping for his team, which got beat by Auburn for the SEC West title.
That year, Alabama snuck in as the No. 4 seed and won the whole thing. Via Saturday Down South:
“He’s saying it because he’s Nick Saban and he wanted to throw something up in the air and get people talking, but he’s really talking to the committee,” Finebaum said. “… He’s trying to get them to think. He’s trying to get them to do some comparison shopping between Alabama and Utah. Because the conventional wisdom now is if Utah wins out, and wins the Pac-12 Championship Game, they are going to jump Alabama.”
There are plenty of scenarios still in play that could allow for Alabama to make it, but they need a lot of help, with the current top four, plus Utah, Minnesota, and Oklahoma all remaining at least somewhat alive. Expect to see plenty of Saban during the run up to those final rankings come out, especially if 'Bama blasts Auburn on Saturday.
