Paul Finebaum praises Kalen DeBoer, labels Alabama as legitimate contender after win vs. Georgia

It only took one game for Paul Finebaum to jump aboard the Alabama hype train again. During an appearance on The Matt Barrie Show, Finebaum raved about the Crimson Tide’s Week 5 win over Georgia.

“What was so interesting is, after ULM and after Wisconsin, everywhere I went, ‘What do you think about Alabama? They look great.’ And you wanted to say ‘Yes, but.’ Now, you don’t have to say that,” Finebaum said. “Alabama is a legitimate contender again. They don’t have a conference loss.

“Being out Friday night in Athens, how many Georgia fans came up to me as we watched the end of Florida State and go, ‘Hey, you think your Alabama team is worth a flip now?’ And, it’s 24 hours later, it has been flipped against that team that they were bragging about. It almost felt like when Florida State lost that game, that Alabama was cooked.”

Alabama was under immense pressure after losing its season-opener against Florida State. Fans were particularly frustrated with head coach Kalen DeBoer, considering Alabama had also missed the College Football Playoff last season.

Alabama didn’t ignore the masses. The team held a players-only meeting and challenged each other to play tougher. Since then, the Crimson Tide have looked like a different team.

While Alabama dominated Wisconsin in Week 3, fans couldn’t be sure the Crimson Tide had really changed for the better until they downed Georgia on the road Saturday. With the victory, Alabama is firmly in the CFP race and DeBoer has been lifted off the hot seat.

“Kalen DeBoer is really phenomenal in the sense that how many times does this guy come back from the dead?” Finebaum said. “It’s just unreal to think that his road record is bad, but he is 2-0 against Kirby Smart. And the bigger number is Kirby Smart is 0-2 against him. Saban doesn’t matter anymore. The schedule is still tricky, but I would say, overall, Alabama to go into October with one loss — not bad.

“… Sometimes you have to listen to what wind is telling you, telling us that Alabama had turned regardless of the competition, and they have. I know people are going to try to make a lot out of this week. Don’t forget, they’re playing Vanderbilt. But, Matt, I’m not too concerned about this Crimson Tide team right now.”

Vanderbilt started Alabama’s downward spiral last season when it upset the Crimson Tide, who were ranked No. 1 in the country at the time. Alabama will look to avoid a similar fate this season.

On Saturday, Alabama will square off against Vanderbilt at 2:30 p.m. CDT. The game will air live on ABC.