Paul Finebaum goes 'all-in' on Alabama, Nick Saban ahead of rivalry vs. Tennessee

Paul Finebaum is ready to push all his chips into the table for the Alabama Crimson Tide, ahead of their showdown with the Tennessee Volunteers.

After lamenting Alabama’s slow start to the season, Finebaum is backing the Crimson Tide’s resurgence. Joining ESPN’s Get Up on Wednesday, he vehemently denied that Alabama should be worried about the Volunteers, and explained his belief in Nick Saban’s team.

“No, I’m going to start going all-in on Alabama, like you (Mike Greenberg) are on Aaron Rodgers and the Jets,” Finebaum responded when asked if Alabama could be upset by Tennessee. “They can do no wrong right now, Greeny, you know that. Nick Saban has done a really nice job of turning this season around. It was over after that Texas loss, and then the next week, the controversy over the quarterback situation. But they’re playing well.

“They’re not great. They make a lot of mistakes. They are eking by teams. But they will get by Tennessee Saturday.”

Additionally, ESPN’s Heather Dinich joined the fray, and while she isn’t as confident in Alabama as Finebaum, she does believe the Crimson Tide will get the win on Saturday.

“Well, I’ve learned my lesson about picking against them, and putting them on upset watch, but I will say that as long as they continue to make the mistakes that they have, they will remain vulnerable, no matter who they’re playing,” added Dinich. “Nick Saban would probably agree with this. When you look at them, 106th in the country in penalties. Their running game is averaging less than four yards per carry. When you talk about the sacks, No. 132 in the country in sacks per pass attempt.

“That’s a bit of a recipe for disaster, when you’re playing an elite team. But we’ll see what happens this weekend. Not upset alert, but vulnerable all the way.”

Alas, Tennessee may be coming off of a great victory over Texas A&M last weekend, but it’s evident both analysts aren’t completely sold on the 2023 version of the Volunteers.

Last season’s win was an all-timer, but it’s tough to get Saban and the Crimson Tide two years in a row. That’ll be the challenge for Tennessee on Saturday, and it’s one that many don’t believe they can accomplish.

Nevertheless, plenty of eyes will be on this weekend’s game between Alabama and Tennessee, and it’ll be fascinating to see who comes out with the win.