Paul Finebaum: 'Alabama losing was good for college football'

Alabama’s loss to Texas A&M in Week 6 has completely shaken up college football. The Crimson Tide, coming off of an undefeated, national championship season, started 5-0 this year. With Alabama losing, the battle to reach the College Football Playoff is wide open, says ESPN’s Paul Finebaum.

Finebaum believes that Alabama losing is actually good for college football. The Crimson Tide comes in at No. 5 after the loss. Georgia, Iowa, Cincinnati, and Oklahoma round out the new top four in the latest AP Poll.

“Alabama losing was good for college football in general,” Finebaum said Monday morning. “And part of the reason is today. … That was tremendous news. The fact that Cincinnati and Iowa and all these other schools are being talked about has done what the people that run college football have been unable to do.”

Finebaum: Alabama can still stay in the picture for the Playoff

The path to earn a berth in the College Football Playoff is seemingly wide open. But you can’t completely count Alabama out yet. Though with Georgia dominating and teams like Iowa, Cincinnati, and Oklahoma being perfect and impressing, the path is no longer clear cut for Nick Saban and Alabama.

And after a slow start, Ohio State has played itself right back into contention in recent weeks. Alabama is usually a staple in the Playoff, but that might not remain true this season. And the fact that these conversations are happening just six weeks into the season shows that the fight is far from over for teams hoping to get a shot.

“With Clemson out of the way, and Alabama hanging by a thread in early October – not November but early October – there is more interest,” Finebaum said. “Now, what that really means, and the fact (is) that Alabama can get right back in (the national championship picture). And I don’t think we should lose sight of that.

“I think college football is always helped by big stories and you can’t find a bigger story in college football than Nick Saban losing in a monumental upset.”

Alabama will likely need to be perfect over the rest of the season to early a spot in the Playoff. The remaining schedule for Alabama sees matchups with Mississippi State, Tennessee, LSU, New Mexico State, Arkansas, and Auburn. And if Alabama is able to win out and earn a spot in the SEC Championship game, it will likely have to defeat an elite Georgia team to be on the right side of things.