Paul Finebaum not high on LSU's chances at surpassing Alabama in the SEC in 2023

There’s plenty of hype around Baton Rouge for this upcoming football season considering what Brian Kelly did in his first year at LSU. It’s no small feat to win the SEC West, make the SEC Championship, and make a case for the College Football Playoff in your first season in the conference.

Still, while that’s fine and all, Paul Finebaum recently put the Tigers in their place, especially in comparison to Alabama.

Finebaum shared his confusion for the crowning of LSU in an appearance on Monday on ‘McElroy and Cubelic In The Morning’. He said the disrespect is likely to the benefit of the Crimson Tide as, to him, it seems the Tigers have already won the division based on how people are covering them.

“I don’t understand the absolute response that I’m getting from people that cover the SEC that LSU is going to be the pick to win the SEC West. As well as maybe to pull a shot at Georgia and maybe make the playoff,” Finebaum said. “I just don’t see that.”

“When the sun clears and you look at the roster? Other than the quarterback position, it’s pretty close to Georgia,” continued Finebaum. “Again, you can split hairs. But Alabama is loaded. I think maybe this plays into Nick Saban’s favor a little bit.”

LSU deserves their fair share of respect after they went 10-4 in 2022. They likely deserve even more considering they brought back several key pieces from the roster that achieved that. Still, although they knocked off Alabama last season, Finebaum says that one victory, especially in the context that it came in, doesn’t just automatically push the Tigers over the top on the Tide.

“I literally had a guy say the other day that LSU absolutely has passed Alabama. I just haven’t seen it,” said Finebaum. “It took a two-point conversion in a bizarre game in Tiger Stadium on a Saturday night for that to happen. During a stretch where Alabama was leaking oil. Would that have happened earlier in the season on the day that Tennessee went in there and won by 28? Or later in the season when Alabama put it together? No. I don’t think so.”

“That was a very strange occurrence,” Finebaum said. “As much as I respect what Brian Kelly has done? That program is really in the same zip code at the moment as Alabama.”

Again, Finebaum’s words aren’t meant to tear the Tigers down completely. In his eyes, it’s just about putting them in their appropriate place alongside Alabama rather than above them. If LSU has any issue with that, all they have to do is wait for when they can settle it on November 4th in Tuscaloosa when they’ll look to make it two straight wins over ‘Bama.