Paul Finebaum denies LSU is the team to beat in SEC West

Coming into the 2023 season, there is some thought that LSU should be the favorite to win the SEC West, repeating what the Tigers accomplished in 2022. However, college football analyst Paul Finebaum doesn’t think things are going to be so easy for LSU.

Instead, Finebaum thinks that Alabama is the team to beat in the SEC West, as he explained on SportsCenter.

“No, they’re not,” Finebaum said when asked about LSU being the favorites. “A lot of people think they are, Matt, but when this week is over, Alabama will end up winning the vote of the media here because they still have Nick Saban and they still have enormous talent, and they have the most important game of the West this year: LSU at home.”

Last season, in Brian Kelly’s first season at LSU, the Tigers beat Alabama in overtime in Death Valley. With the game in Tuscaloosa in 2023, Finebaum expects a different result.

“They lost last year in overtime, as everyone remembers. Nick Saban could not figure out a way to stop the two-point conversion, but it will be different in Tuscaloosa. But LSU’s not worried about Alabama right now. They open the season against Florida State, which could be a top 10 team.”

This wasn’t the first time Paul Finebaum made a push to put Alabama ahead of LSU for the 2023 season. He also recently argued that Alabama is going to hold serve against the Tigers.

“I think once you push Kirby Smart’s situation off the table, which I think it will be handled within five minutes, it is what happens next with Nick Saban, and can he hold serve against Brian Kelly,” theorized Finebaum. “Matt, a lot of pundits, which is essentially what media day is, is about LSU having moved into that position. I don’t buy it. I think Alabama’s still very strong.”

The biggest question facing LSU at SEC media days

As ESPN’s Chris Low recently explained, the biggest question for LSU at SEC media days is going to come down to whether or not LSU can repeat success in 2023.

“When are expectations not lofty at LSU, especially when you bring in a coach the caliber of Brian Kelly and are coming off a national championship four years earlier?” Chris Low wrote.

“The Tigers surprised a lot of people a year ago in winning the SEC’s Western Division and knocking off Alabama in Kelly’s first season in Baton Rouge. Taking that next step will prove even more difficult, but LSU has the pieces in place to make another run in the West and get back to the SEC championship game.”