Paul Finebaum makes feelings on LSU, Nick Saban clear after CFB Week 1

LSU, after a season-defining win over Clemson in Week 1 on Saturday night, is the team to beat in the loaded Southeastern Conference, ESPN commentator Paul Finebaum said via "Get Up" on Monday morning.

No. 9 LSU, which will move up in the top-25 polls later this week, defeated No. 4 Clemson, the favorite to win the Atlantic Coast Conference, 17-10 on the road. It was one of the most impressive victories during a fabulous Week 1 docket.

Granted, LSU has an incredibly challenging upcoming schedule as the Tigers eye SEC competition starting with No. 15 Florida at home on September 13.

For now, though, Finebaum likes where LSU resides in the SEC. He added that No. 1 Texas, which fell at No. 3 Ohio State,14-7, on Saturday in Columbus, will be in the mix for the SEC title in 2025.

While commentators are paid to give their opinions, stating LSU is the favorite to win the SEC after one game (and that contest wasn't even a league affair) is a bit much. A lot more has to unfold before a front-runner can legitimately be pegged in the SEC or any other conference.

Finebaum remains undecided at this juncture regarding No. 5 Georgia, and there are other schools that can compete for an SEC championship, such as No. 13 South Carolina, No. 15 Florida, No. 18 Oklahoma, No. 19 Texas A&M, No. 21 Ole Miss and No. 24 Tennessee.

However, Finebaum pummelled No. 8 Alabama on Monday. The Crimson Tide, he says, "is soft" and "undisciplined" following Alabama's 31-17 loss to Florida State on Saturday in Tallahassee.

Whether he was joking or not, on Monday morning, Finebaum pleaded with the legendary Nick Saban to un-retire and go back to leading the Crimson Tide. Saban won six national championships as Alabama's head coach.

Nick Saban is wasting his time on ESPN's "College GameDay," Finebaum said, adding that ESPN should let him out of his contract with the media company so he can "be there Saturday at Nick Saban Field."

Meanwhile, Saban's replacement, former Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer, has a "scalding hot" seat, Finebaum says, although he doesn't think Alabama leaders would fire him because he has a buyout of about $70M.

Also on "Get Up," ESPN senior writer Heather Dinich says that the Crimson Tide could end up with four or five losses in 2025, which was unheard of at Alabama in recent years before last season, when Alabama went 9-4.

While it's understandable if Crimson Tide fans are upset over the state of their program, keep in mind that the college football landscape is a lot different from a few seasons ago, when Saban was still in Tuscaloosa.

Not only are there massive third-party NIL deals in the sport, but the transfer portal's explosion and schools being able to directly pay their athletes have drastically altered things, along with ongoing conference realignment.

As such, comparing DeBoer to Saban is not an apples-to-apples comparison. By extension, any Alabama fan expecting DeBoer to come in and fully "replace" Saban probably has a case of unrealistic wishful thinking.