Paul Finebaum on what's at stake for Kalen DeBoer vs. Oklahoma: He needs to win this game

There could be a lot at stake for Kalen DeBoer and Alabama in the first round of the College Football Playoff against Oklahoma. The way ESPN’s Paul Finebaum sees it, DeBoer can avoid a lot of headaches if the Crimson Tide at least win this game and advance to the Rose Bowl against Indiana.

Already at 10-3, some may be uncomfortable with DeBoer and Alabama having three-plus losses again. But at least they’re in the CFP!

“More unpopularity. And people would say, ‘Well, how could he be unpopular? He’s in the playoffs,’ but we all remember he was one of the last schools in the playoffs,” Finebaum said on Get Up. “A loss Friday night would mean four losses on the season. That would be two consecutive four loss seasons. Greeny. We’ve talked about Alabama long enough on this program, that’s a disastrous season.

“A disastrous season under Saban was losing in the final game of the year, in the title game, so DeBoer needs to win this game, get to the Rose Bowl and take on Indiana if he doesn’t, it just gets more complicated after that.”

ESPN’s Heather Dinich agreed and mentioned how this is a prove it game for DeBoer. Sure, he made the College Football Playoff, but the expectations at Alabama are to do more and win national championships. Can they do that this year? Depends.

“This is a prove it game,” Dinich said. “Paul’s absolutely right, because there are a lot of people out there, including some people in the selection committee meeting room, who didn’t think Alabama should be in as a three loss team because of the way they played in the SEC championship game. This is a team that regressed on the field over the last couple of weeks, minus-three yards rushing against Georgia, so they’ve got to come out, and they’ve got to play really well in addition to winning this game.”

DeBoer has had to field questions about the Michigan job, despite doubling down that he’s not going anywhere. Plus, AD Greg Byrne is committed to DeBoer for 2026 and beyond to reach their goals.

“Outside of knowing that there was a question or two, I think at the end of last week, it’s been non-existent,” DeBoer said of distractions ahead of the playoff. “I mean, it really hasn’t. Our guys are focused on Oklahoma. They really are. I mean, that’s what we’ve been completely focused on. I haven’t seen anything other than that. Again, these guys deal with the noise, and they know that that’s what it is. What’s internal is what matters.”