Paul Finebaum didn’t hold back when it came to Alabama fans reacting to the preseason AP Top 25, and he made it clear he thinks the outrage is misplaced.
The Crimson Tide landed at No. 13 in Monday’s rankings, and that was enough to set off a strong response from the fan base. Finebaum, speaking on Get Up on Tuesday, said he heard plenty of frustration from listeners on his show - but he wasn’t buying the complaint.
“Yesterday, it was 101 degrees in Tuscaloosa, but the fans on The Paul Finebaum Show were even hotter and upset with the AP Poll,” Finebaum said on Get Up on Tuesday. “They could not believe their beloved Alabama, was not in the Top 10.
I was not surprised. I frankly agree, They should have been lower.”
Finebaum then turned the conversation toward what he sees as the bigger issue at Alabama: life after Nick Saban. In his view, that’s still the lens through which many fans are judging the program, even though the reality has changed.
“But the problem at Alabama is one we’ve talked about a long time,” Finebaum said. “They just can’t get over the fact that Nick Saban is no longer the coach. The program doesn’t get the best players, and they’re looking at about a 9-3 season, which is fine if you’re Oklahoma of somebody else, but it doesn’t work at Alabama.”
Alabama will get its first chance to answer those doubts on Sept. 5, when it opens the season against East Carolina.
In Other News...
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Bud Elliotts early look at the 2026 SEC quarterback race put Alabama fans in a familiar spot: plenty of hope, and probably a little debate. In his CBS Sports ranking, the college football analyst slotted Texas star Arch Manning at No. 1, then filled out the top five with Ole Misss Trinidad Chambliss, LSUs Sam Leavitt, Alabamas Keelon Russell and South Carolinas LaNorris Sellers.
For Alabama, the noteworthy part is not just Russell cracking the list, but where he landed in a conference that rarely leaves much room for error at quarterback. Elliott also weighed recent performance and future potential in making his selections, which only adds to the intrigue around Russell heading into next season. Crimson Tide fans have spent plenty of time waiting to see what the next quarterback era will look like, and this ranking is another reminder that the conversation around Russell is already starting to get serious. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Scrimmage Left One Big QB Question And Fresh Injury Concern
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There was also a more concerning note on the injury front, as true freshman EJ Crowell sat out while continuing to work back from an ankle issue. In a camp where every rep matters, Alabama is still sorting out both its top competition and its early health picture, and the final shape of the depth chart will depend on how those pieces come together over the next stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Former Alabama Player Just Won A Massive Case Tied To 2023 Shooting
A former Alabama basketball player has now won a major legal battle that reached far beyond the court. An Alabama jury ordered The New York Times to pay $9.25 million in damages to Kai Spears after finding the paper defamed him by wrongly reporting that he was at the scene of a fatal 2023 shooting, a claim Spears challenged in a lawsuit filed in 2023.
The nine-day trial ended with the jury siding with Spears, putting a sharp spotlight on how a mistaken report can follow an athlete long after his playing days. The Times had acknowledged the error in its original story and said it is reviewing its legal options after the verdict, leaving the case with another chapter still possible. [Read more 🡒]