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‘Alabama doesn’t have a good win’: Paul Finebaum not sold on Tide as No. 1 team just yet
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Paul Finebaum is putting the SEC on the backburner, at least temporarily. The SEC Network radio host who always admires Alabama’s success on the football field isn’t convinced Nick Saban has the best team in college football. Not right now, anyway.
Over the last few weeks, Finebaum has had Ohio State listed as his top team in the country, with LSU coming in at No. 2 on that list. Right now, he has the tied pegged all the way down at No. 3.
During ESPN’s First Take, co-host Stephen A. Smith thought it was crazy that Finebaum had Alabama at No. 3 in the rankings. But Finebaum has a pretty good reason for having the Tide so low.
“Stephen A., unlike you, I don’t have that SEC bias,” a smirking Finebaum said. “I have Ohio State at No. 1 because I think Ohio State is the most compete team in the country. I think LSU is next. Listen, I know as everyone knows that that game [between Alabama and LSU] will decide a lot. I think the College Football Playoff committee, when they come out of their cave next Tuesday night, is going to have LSU at No. 1. They may very well have Ohio State No. 2, based on what we’ve seen. Alabama doesn’t have a good win, Stephen A. Their best win of the year is getting you as a speaker back in August.”
Ohio State has registered signature wins over ranked teams Cincinnati and Wisconsin this season, and has defeated everyone on the schedule by 24 points or more. LSU has wins over Texas, Auburn and Florida, as well.
Regardless of which way you vote, it’s hard to argue based on eye test and strength of wins, Ohio State and LSU deserve to be in the top two spots.
It’ll be interesting to see how the College Football Playoff selection committee views this next week.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB