Paul Finebaum discredits FSU football’s Week 1 win over Alabama

Despite Florida State’s Week 1 win over Alabama, Finebaum finds a way to bend the story back toward the SEC.

Oct 5, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; SEC Nation analyst Paul Finebaum looks on prior to the game between the Texas A&M Aggies and the Missouri Tigers at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images. | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

ESPN’s Paul Finebaum has had his fair share of eye-rolling scripts when it comes to Florida State football. Alabama toppled Georgia but fell to FSU in Week 1, and yet Finebaum’s narrative has already shifted to fit his SEC-first playbook.

Picture him rattling his PlayStation controller on College Football 26, clinging to a new favorite Tennessee prospect while the Crimson Tide he’s long ridden has taken a swirl this season.

FSU’s win over Alabama should have flipped the script, but Finebaum found a way to spin it back into his trademark SEC schtick. That’s the beauty of his act; no matter the outcome, the story always bends to keep the SEC on top.

READ MORE: FSU football’s Tommy Castellanos wants defense to make it ugly for Miami’s QB

Dinich and Finebaum At Odds

Paul Finebaum of SEC Nation on set before the Alabama, LSU game in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on Nov. 9, 2019. | Kirsten Fiscus/Advertiser via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Finebaum and analyst Heather Dinich disagreed when discussing the latest AP rankings on ESPN's 'Get Up' on Tuesday, which saw FSU slide by the largest margin this season. FSU went from No. 8 to No. 18 in the AP rankings this week, and while Alabama defeated No. 5 Georgia, it didn't sit right with Denich.

“I got to be honest, it is absurd to me that Florida State dropped ten spots in the AP Poll after losing in double overtime on the road to a very good team because, last I checked, Florida State beat this Alabama team that went on the road and beat Georgia,” Denich said. “The selection committee cares about head-to-head results.”

Finebaum unsurprisingly kept the SEC playbook open for business on Tuesday.

Finebaum Responds

Oct 5, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; SEC Nation analyst Paul Finebaum looks on prior to the game between the Texas A&M Aggies and the Missouri Tigers at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images. | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

"But, Heather, c’mon now,” Finebaum responded. “That Alabama team that we saw in the first weekend of the season was not the same one."

"And I dare say, trying to equate a loss at Virginia – whatever they are, I appreciate you complimenting them – versus a loss at Georgia are not one in the same. I think the AP Poll got it right and, I bet if the committee met this past weekend, they would say the same thing.”

Same story, in a different week. Finebaum backs the SEC. Saturday at Doak Campbell Stadium will say more than any segment ever could.

---

READ MORE: FSU football plummets in AP Top 25 Poll after shocking defeat

Stick with NoleGameday for more FREE coverage of Florida State Football throughout the 2025 season

Follow NoleGameday on and Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok

More Florida State News

• FSU football opens as underdog in rivalry game against Miami Hurricanes
  

• Virginia fined after field storming puts FSU football player safety at risk
  

• Mike Norvell on FSU football's brutal loss to Virginia: 'We have to be better'
  

• FSU football's Tommy Castellanos delivers rallying message after upset loss