Paul Finebaum reveals which SEC teams impressed him the most during bowl season

With the bowl season all but wrapped up, the SEC put on yet another strong enough showing with a 6-5 record. It’s worth noting that a handful of teams lost games where they were shorthanded. In the end, though, several teams put on shows throughout the last weeks of December. Now, with only Georgia left to play again, Paul Finebaum provided his evaluation of the SEC’s postseason.

During his appearance on ‘McElroy and Cubelic In The Morning’ on Tuesday, Finebaum first pointed out what everyone needed to focus on. While some teams fell due to a lack of depth due to opt-outs, he says the best SEC teams playing in the best bowls handled their business.

“I felt much better about it than some of the pundits who were making a big deal out of Missouri, Florida, Kentucky, and some of the other games that didn’t really matter. To me, you’re defined by what you do in the big games,” said Finebaum. “I thought the Orange Bowl was pretty impressive (for Tennessee) by beating Clemson. (They’ve) been, along with Alabama, the team of the last seven or eight years in the College Football Playoff era. (And) I was really impressed with LSU yesterday, albeit against a bad team and an interim coach.”

However, even with Tennessee, LSU, Mississippi State, and Georgia getting some of the biggest wins, Finebaum leaned towards Alabama as the most impressive team. They ended their year by beating the Big 12 Champion Kansas State Wildcats 45-20 in the Sugar Bowl. Eventually, it was a performance that had Finebaum wondering where that firepower was over the course of the season?

“I was most impressed by Alabama of the non-playoff games,” Finebaum said. “To Nick Saban’s credit, he was able to convince those players to stay. (They) put on a performance that, frankly, made me wonder why couldn’t we have seen this team throughout this season? Because they looked about as good as you can look. And, quite frankly, they looked better than anyone else did over the weekend.”

Alabama may have ended its season with an exclamation point. Still, it’s the Bulldogs that have the best chance to end on a high note come the national championship game. Finishing their year with back-to-back titles would be the ultimate way for the SEC to finish yet another successful postseason.