Paul Finebaum: No comparison between Nick Saban's worst losses, Kalen DeBoer's

On Saturday, No. 1 Alabama fell 40-35 to Vanderbilt only one week after defeating SEC rival Georgia. Naturally, the loss caused fans around the nation to compare Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer to former head coach Nick Saban. On Monday, Paul Finebaum joined in on the conversation.

“In the context of college football, there are no two schools more polar opposite than Vanderbilt and Alabama,” Finebaum said. “You have the biggest brand and a brand that has been a punching bag for our entire life. That’s what’s so extraordinary about this.

“This wasn’t Nick Saban in his first year losing to Louisiana-Monroe. He inherited a crummy team. He had a bad team. This is the No. 1 team in the whole country losing to Vanderbilt. Oh yeah, it’s a nice program. They’re better. It doesn’t matter.”

The teams DeBoer and Saban inherited in their first seasons at the helm of Alabama are wildly different. Saban took over the program in 2007 after it went 6-7 and 2-6 in conference play.

In contrast, DeBoer received an Alabama team that reached the College Football Playoff and won the SEC Championship last season. Of course, it’s worth noting DeBoer also had to deal with the transfer portal, which was not a reality in 2007.

Nonetheless, Finebaum seemingly believes the loss against Vanderbilt never would’ve occurred under Saban.

“Nick Saban lost games as the No. 1 in the country, but they were at Texas A&M,” Finebaum said. “They were against big-time programs. And it is Kalen DeBoer’s fault. This team wasn’t ready to play, and that’s one of the issues that I think a lot of fans are worried about today.

“He’s an offensive mind. He’s a finesse guy. I mean, where is the defense? They have not shown up the last six weeks, and they were beaten at the line of scrimmage.”

Alabama played Vanderbilt four times during Saban’s tenure as head coach, winning all four meetings by a combined 172-13. Vanderbilt scored 13 points in just the first quarter of its win on Saturday.

Saturday wasn’t the first time Alabama’s defense has shown weakness this season. The Crimson Tide’s defense is allowing 336.2 yards per game, ranking No. 50 in the country. For reference, Alabama’s defense gave up 316 yards per game last season, the 17th-least in the nation.

Kalen DeBoer and Co. have no shortage of opportunities to redeem themselves this season. On Saturday, the Crimson Tide will square off against South Carolina at noon ET. The game will air live on ABC.