Paul Finebaum sees a lot right with Alabama, believes path to Atlanta is clear

Alabama pulled away for a hard-fought 34-20 win over Tennessee over the weekend, securing its sixth straight victory and remaining undefeated in SEC play.

The Crimson Tide now have a bye week, before hosting LSU on Nov. 4. Both of those teams will still have two SEC games remaining after they face off. But that matchup likely will decide who wins the SEC West and earns a spot in the SEC Championship game.

As things stand, SEC Network analyst Paul Finebaum believes Alabama has an excellent chance to make it to Atlanta and the SEC title game.

“The path is pretty clear,” Finebaum said Monday morning on the McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning show. “The percentages favor Alabama, and I think the momentum favors Alabama right now to get back to Atlanta.”

Alabama suffered its only loss of the season in Week 2 against Texas and struggled the following week on the road at USF.

However, since then, the Crimson Tide have looked like a different team.

Alabama is now 5-0 in SEC play and looks much-improved from earlier in the season. The defense in particular has played really well as of late as the Crimson Tide have earned conference wins over Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Texas A&M, Arkansas and Tennessee.

“I think right now, you have to accept the fact that since that very treacherous moment in the early part of the season, post-Texas and around the South Florida game, that this team has gotten a lot better,” Finebaum said. “The coaching staff seems to be aligned after all of the hullabaloo — some of it real and some of it imagined — early on.”

This isn’t one of the more dominant Alabama teams that we’ve seen Nick Saban produce over the years.

The Crimson Tide clearly have flaws and aren’t blowing people out the way we became accustomed to seeing them do for so long. Still, Alabama is talented and has proven that it can win games in different ways. Quarterback Jalen Milroe also seems to be getting better and better.

Finebaum believes the Crimson Tide will continue to find ways to win games as the season rolls along.

“I think it’s time to quit obsessing over what’s wrong and start concentrating on what’s right with this team. And there’s a lot that is,” Finebaum said. “I think with each step on this ladder, it’s felt a little more comfortable and the outlook has been brighter.”