Paul Finebaum. Ken Ruinard / staff, The Greenville News via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Paul Finebaum blames interesting person for No. 1 Alabama's loss

By Neil Adler | Last updated Oct 6, 2024 6:17 PM ET

ESPN commentator Paul Finebaum is known for his spirited takes, and he had another strong one following a stunning college football upset in Week 6.

The Vanderbilt (3-2, 1-1 in the SEC) knocked off No. 1 Alabama (4-1, 1-1 in SEC) by a final count of 40-35, one of numerous results where top-25 teams fell in Week 6. Finebaum, speaking on ESPN's "SportsCenter," discussed the stunning upset and pointed the finger at an unlikely party.

"Nick Saban would have never lost a game like that," Finebaum said, as relayed via an article from On3's Barkley Truax. "He did lose his first year to Louisiana Monroe, but he had inherited a 6-7 team, and he had a .500 team that year. But you know something, I am going to blame this game on Nick Saban. Do you remember what he said? What Saban said two weeks ago? He said, ‘The only place you play in the SEC that’s not hard is Vanderbilt.’ That went up on the bulletin board. They played it all week. So, Nick Saban, this is your fault. You cost your former team the win yesterday against Vanderbilt."

About two weeks ago, current ESPN analyst and former legendary Alabama head coach Nick Saban made some comments "The Pat McAfee Show" that certainly didn't age well.

"The only place you play in the SEC that’s not hard to play in is Vanderbilt. When you play at Vanderbilt, you have more fans there than they have. And that’s no disrespect to them it’s just the truth. When we played in Nashville, we had more fans, Alabama fans, than what they had, Vanderbilt fans."

This take by Finebaum doesn't hold water, however. Was Saban on the field playing against Vanderbilt? No. He's not even the Crimson Tide's head coach any longer. That title belongs to Kalen DeBoer, who helped guide Alabama to a terrific home win over highly ranked Georgia in Week 5.

While Saban's recent comments likely fueled Vanderbilt coaches and players to some degree, the Commodores won this game on the field. Vanderbilt dominated the time of possession in its triumph over Alabama, having the ball for more than 42 minutes.

The Crimson Tide had two turnovers to Vanderbilt's zero. Alabama committed more penalties while Vanderbilt led in total yards, 418 to 394 and in first downs, 26 to 17. What's more, the Commodores went a strong 12-of-18 on 3rd downs, helping to keep their offense on the field while keeping Alabama's potent offense on the sidelines.

None of this has anything to do with Saban. Vanderbilt was the better football team on Saturday, and the Commodores stunned the Crimson Tide as a result.

Neil Adler

Since graduating summa cum laude from Syracuse University's Newhouse School in 2000 with a degree in broadcast journalism, Neil Adler has served as a sports reporter, a marketing professional and a business journalist, mainly in the Washington, D. C. , market

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