Paul Finebaum blames Nick Saban shade of Vanderbilt fans for shocking upset: 'Nick Saban, this is your fault'

Nick Saban wouldn’t have lost to Vanderbilt. It’s also his fault Alabama lost on Saturday, according to Paul Finebaum.

The Crimson Tide were stunned in Week 6, losing to the Commodores 40-35 following what many considered as the most impressive win anyone has had this season in their victory over Georgia the previous week.

However, Finebaum is placing the blame solely on Saban — not current head coach Kalen DeBoer for the loss.

“Nick Saban would have never lost a game like that,” Finebaum said on SportsCenter on Sunday morning. “He did lose his first year to Louisiana Monroe, but he had inherited a 6-7 team, and he had a .500 team that year. But you know something, I am going to blame this game on Nick Saban. Do you remember what he said? What Saban said two weeks ago? He said, ‘The only place you play in the SEC that’s not hard is Vanderbilt.’ That went up on the bulletin board. They played it all week. So, Nick Saban, this is your fault. You cost your former team the win yesterday against Vanderbilt.”

Saban’s message on The Pat McAfee Show was played loud and clear as the final buzzer sounded, turning Vanderbilt’s win into a reality.

In Saban’s defense, the longtime Alabama coach played Vanderbilt on the road twice during his time in Tuscaloosa, winning both games by margins of 14 and 59. There was some ease with those victories, specifically the second one which featured Jalen Hurts as the team’s quarterback. Both teams were in opposite divisions and did not play all too often.

However, DeBoer’s Alabama team drew the Commodores this season — and it continues the most notable season from Vanderbilt in over a decade.

Alabama does have an uptick in their schedule coming up that can put them right back in the mix, or lead them further down in the SEC and national rankings. Beginning on Oct. 19, Alabama will have Tennessee, Missouri and LSU in consecutive weeks. The Tennessee and LSU games are both on the road, and matchups against Oklahoma and the Iron Bowl are still to come as well.

Things won’t be getting easier for the Crimson Tide in the coming weeks, but Nick Saban would likely say it’s all about how the team responds to adversity. Whether Kalen DeBoer’s 2024 Alabama team can do that remains to be seen, but that effort begins in Week 7 against South Carolina at home.

Kickoff is scheduled for Noon ET live on ABC.