Paul Finebaum torches Kalen DeBoer, Alabama for loss to Oklahoma: ‘Simply inexcusable’

https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/coaches/kalen-deboer/Paul Finebaum didn’t pull any punches when reacting to Alabama’s 24-3 loss to Oklahoma on Sunday morning.

Finebaum made his usual appearance on the Matt Barrie Show on Sunday morning and he was very clear about what he thought of the Tide’s performance in Norman.

“Let me cut to the chase,” Finebaum said. “It was simply inexcusable. And you can blame anyone you want, but you would be smart to start at the very top. Because that team did not look prepared. They didn’t look focused. They didn’t look like they had a clue what they were getting in to and I don’t know how that could be the case, because everyone who watched football knew that Brent Venables had an elite defense.”

For Alabama, this is the third loss of the year for Kalen DeBoer in his first year in Tuscaloosa. That puts Alabama’s College Football Playoff hopes in serious jeopardy entering the final week of the regular season.

“I don’t understand how Alabama can be considered a legitimate Playoff team,” Finebaum said. “And I realize that there are probably schools in there that aren’t legitimate either. But they’ve lost to Vanderbilt, a 5-loss team. And now Oklahoma, a 5-loss team. If you were looking at a chart of the SEC, they’re probably 12th and 13th out of the 16 teams in the league.”

Finebaum also indicated that the fan base’s trust in DeBoer has been further eroded by this performance.

“In the middle of the night, I’m getting texts from old-line Alabama fans going, ‘what have we gotten ourselves into?’” Finebaum said. “It’s a worse Alabama team than we saw against Vanderbilt. I mean, this team was completely clueless.”

Alabama may still have a path to the College Football Playoff at 9-3 depending on how the rest of the season plays out. The Crimson Tide will finish out the regular season next weekend against Auburn.