Paul Finebaum, Heather Dinich debate how much pressure is on Kalen DeBoer vs. Georgia

Kalen DeBoer and the Alabama Crimson Tide are preparing for a massive clash with the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon, a rematch of last season’s SEC Championship Game.

While DeBoer has the Crimson Tide humming, a victory over Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs would go a long way towards convincing fans he’s a worthy successor to Nick Saban. Ahead of the showdown, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum and Heather Dinich examined the pressure DeBoer is under to get a win in Tuscaloosa in Week 5.

“It’s massive, and some of it is because of the perception,” Finebaum stated, via Get Up. “Going into the season, I thought Georgia would be a much bigger favorite, but they have played poorly, nearly losing to Kentucky. Alabama has looked great. DeBoer has had a seamless transition, which is almost inconceivable, considering he was replacing Nick Saban, but he’s done almost everything right, and the fans right now cannot accept the fact that things have changed. They are still in charge of college football.

“I don’t want to tell them they’re not, that Texas is actually No. 1, but the real problem is a loss here would be a shock to the system, and Mondays after an Alabama loss are like nothing else, because they have happened so infrequently under Nick Saban.”

Evidently, Finebaum believes it’s paramount for DeBoer to win his first big game as the Crimson Tide leader, Heather Dinich disagrees. It’d be a huge feather in DeBoer’s cap, but Dinich thinks the Alabama leader should be given some grace if he’s not able to take down Georgia.

“I think Kalen DeBoer needs to get a hall pass, first of all. Everybody needs to relax a minute, because he did replace Nick Saban, okay? That’s no small task, I don’t care who you are,” Dinich added. “I had a chance to talk to Kalen DeBoer this week, and while he said every game is a big game, and the mentality doesn’t change for that — when he was at Washington, he played plenty of big games.

“He realizes that this is different, in terms of who they’re playing, who he is, who he’s playing for right now, but at the same time, he doesn’t want to let that type of emotion overtake what you have to get done on the field on Saturday, and I don’t think these guys, if they do lose, it’s not going to be for any lack of preparation, and he talked about Jalen Milroe and his growth as a leader, as well. So, I think everybody needs to just relax a minute about Kalen DeBoer. He’s going to win there, he’s going to be just fine.”

Alas, Paul Finebaum, Heather Dinich and the rest of the college football world will be tuned in to ABC on Saturday night, as Georgia and Alabama clash in arguably the biggest game of the season so far. The winner will set themselves up nicely for a championship run, and the loser might have to go back to the drawing board, and hope they get some help moving forward.