ESPN commentator Paul Finebaum had plenty to say after watching both Texas and Alabama go down.
Finebaum had called Manning the best player in the SEC since Tim Tebow, but at least in this game didn’t live up to the hype.
Finebaum also said Sunday morning on ESPN that the Florida State loss was “shattering” for Kalen DeBoer and Alabama.
"It was a shattering loss for Kalen DeBoer," he said. "He had built up tremendous goodwill in the off-season. People believed in him after failing to believe in him at the end of last season. But there is no escaping it. You started hearing words last night like 'hot seat,' 'buyout,' which by the way is $70 million. It was get to the playoffs or bust, and right now he lost a golden opportunity because he has about seven or eight tougher games than he had yesterday. His path is very narrow and his hot seat is very scorching."
When Alabama is a double-digit favorite, they’ve lost, including this game.
Finebaum wasn’t finished; he also laid into Texas and Arch Manning, although he gave the Texas quarterback more grace than the head coach at Alabama.
“It was underwhelming. He was uncomfortable. Just fill in the blank here. Mostly he was terrible,” Finebaum said. “The biggest problem he had was the other side completely outmatched him. Not only offensively and physically, but scheme-wise. I know a lot of people are hitting the panic button and saying he will be a bust. He was a bust in the first game of the season, but I don’t think he will be long-term. In the 12-team Playoff (era), there’s a lot of time to get better and I believe he will.”
There is still a lot of season left for both Alabama and Texas; however, both teams need to figure things out quickly.