Paul Finebaum has spent plenty of time defending the SEC, and Alabama has rarely been a team he goes out of his way to criticize. That made his reaction to the first College Football Playoff rankings all the more striking.
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On November 4, Finebaum appeared on ESPN’s Get Up and took aim at the committee’s decision to place Alabama at No. 5, eight spots ahead of Tennessee. Both teams are 6-2. Tennessee, however, beat Alabama by 16 points.
“I would use words like the committee was drunk,” Paul Finebaum said. “But that would be inappropriate for such an august group of people. But it really doesn’t make any sense.”
“Alabama has no business being that high. I can live with Alabama at 9 or 10, but head-to-head has to matter.”
The numbers make Finebaum’s frustration understandable. Tennessee beat Alabama 26-10 at Neyland Stadium on October 17. The Volunteers did not need a late comeback or a fortunate bounce to get there.
They controlled the game for most of the afternoon. Alabama managed only 201 total yards, including 54 on the ground. Tennessee produced 347. The Crimson Tide converted just two of 13 third downs and turned the ball over four times.
Running back DeSean Bishop carried 32 times for 159 yards and scored twice, helping Tennessee pull away after halftime. Alabama did not score a single point in the second half.
Yet the first CFP rankings, released on November 3, placed the Crimson Tide 5th and Tennessee 13th. For Josh Heupel, whose Tennessee contract pays him $9 million annually, the ranking was another reminder that a convincing win over Alabama does not necessarily buy a team much respect from the committee.
“I don’t know what the committee has against the big Orange nation,” Finebaum said. “They still should be behind Tennessee, which I think has just been royally scre-ed.”
Finebaum also took issue with the committee’s use of Alabama’s 56-23 win over Mississippi State on October 3. The result looks impressive on paper. Alabama scored 56 points on the road against a Bulldogs team that entered the game 4-0.
But Kamario Taylor’s condition complicates the way that victory should be viewed. The Mississippi State quarterback had injured his right leg during the previous week’s game against Missouri.
He played against Alabama, throwing for 258 yards and three touchdowns, but left in the fourth quarter and was seen wearing a walking boot. He is now set to miss the rest of the season because of the foot injury that required surgery.
“They looked at a couple of the Alabama games, notably Mississippi State. But that’s a game I was at. I’ve already forgotten it,” Finebaum said. “Then again, I’m used to the committee not making a lot of sense.”
Mississippi State had yet to lose when the teams met. Alabama, meanwhile, had picked up road wins against Kentucky and South Carolina. Committee chair Hunter Yurachek pointed to those three results as important factors in the Tide’s position.
“Yes, they had a loss to Tennessee. Tennessee doesn’t have the same level of quality wins,” Yurachek said on ESPN.
He pointed to Alabama’s position alongside Kentucky. The Tide beat the Wildcats on the road, and that result helped Alabama earn the higher ranking in that particular comparison.
Tennessee and Alabama, however, were not placed in the same group. That meant the Volunteers’ victory over the Tide did not carry the same direct weight in the committee’s process.
Finebaum was not persuaded. He argued that the early rankings should give teams and fans a clear idea of what the committee values. Instead, he believes this first release has created more confusion.
“I know this is standard for the early November balloting,” Finebaum remarked. “But it should set a template, and this committee has set a very poor template. In fact, it’s the worst template I’ve ever seen.”
Alabama’s LSU trip this weekend now gives the committee another test.
The timing makes the ranking even more interesting. Alabama travels to Baton Rouge on November 7 to face LSU, which entered the first rankings at No. 14 with a 6-2 record.
Finebaum believes the result should have an immediate effect on Alabama’s position. If the Tide lose, he expects them to fall behind LSU, while Tennessee should remain ahead of them.
“What happens now if Alabama goes to LSU and loses?” he asked. “They have to go down. They have to be behind LSU, certainly.”
In all, the first rankings are not the final word. The committee will release another set on November 10, after the weekend’s results. Alabama, Tennessee, and LSU all have a chance to change the conversation.