Paul Finebaum cannot believe the way Nick Saban talks about Alabama now

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Alabama is ranked No. 11 in the country in the preseason college football coaches poll released on Tuesday, Aug. 4. If the AP poll has them in a similar spot, that will be the first time the Crimson Tide enters the season ranked outside the top 10 since 2008.

For some perspective, 2008 was Nick Saban’s second season in Tuscaloosa, and the Tide were coming off a 7-6 season that culminated with a win in the Independence Bowl. Now, two years after Saban left to spend more time with his family and ESPN, Alabama seems like it might be headed back toward the middle.

Saban was asked about the low preseason ranking earlier this week and said he never liked when Alabama was highly ranked. He also sounded hopeful that the Tide could now sneak up on some teams this season. Paul Finebaum was having none of that on Wednesday’s “Get Up” saying, “Stop it. Stop it, coach, already. I mean, we’re talking about the University of Alabama here. Not some off-brand school in the middle of nowhere.”

Finebaum on Alabama excuses

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“Alabama was number one in the country for, at some point, 15 straight years,” Finebaum continued. “They were the favorite I think in all but one game during a 16-game stretch, and Nick Saban’s now trying to dumb down the DeBoer expectations, and I’m not having it. Alabama still has great players. They still have everything that you have to have. And I just don’t like that the former coach is trying to soft-pedal his successor. It’s like the dad telling the young son it’s OK if you strike out at the Little League game. It’s not OK at Alabama! And that’s the problem a lot of people have with Kalen DeBoer. They question whether he has the right DNA and when Daddy Saban comes in and puts his arms around after eight losses in two seasons. Inexplicable losses. It just doesn’t play very well in Sweet Home Alabama.”

While we wait to see how good Alabama actually is this season, it’s good to know that Finebaum is already in midseason form. Saban appeared to be sleepwalking through that answer, and Finebaum still got up for that segment like he was taking on a bitter rival at homecoming.

Just wait until they actually lose a game.

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