Paul Finebaum drops his verdict on Nick Saban's Alabama making CFB playoffs: "They are in great shape" 

College football analyst Paul Finebaum has given his assessment of the Crimson Tide's playoff prospects in a verdict that might provide relief for Alabama fans.

“Yes, I do think they're in great shape," Finebaum said on ESPN's "Get Up."

No. 11 Alabama (5-1, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) had an uncharacteristic start to the season. A rare double-digit home loss (34-24) to Texas and a surprisingly close, 17-3 victory at South Florida had many doubting Nick Saban for a while. Texas was ranked 11th at the time, but is now third, which is what Alabama was ranked when they met on Sept. 9.

However, Saban has steered the ship in the right direction with Alabama now regaining its dominance in conference play, which includes a hard-fought 26-20 win over Texas A&M on Saturday.

"Nothing will make me feel better than talking about Bama being back," Finebaum said about Alabama's resurgence. "See, everything is perfect again."

Finebaum was talking about the sense of perfection returning to the Crimson Tide as Alabama is making a comeback after seemingly solving its quarterback position.

As the season progresses, Finebaum's positive evaluation suggests that Nick Saban hasn’t lost his magic touch yet. The Alabama Crimson Tide are ready to contend for a spot in the College Football Playoff, according to him.

Paul Finebaum believes Alabama's offense to be "a work in progress"

Paul Finebaum had a candid assessment of Alabama's offense despite recent positive strides.

“They’re a work in progress," Finebaum said. "They’re hard to watch sometimes, they make a ridiculous amount of mistakes but Jalen Milroe, who by the way Tommy Rees the new offensive coordinator benched a couple weeks ago, is now back and playing at a very high level.”

Jalen Milroe, benched for the USF game, has made a strong comeback, throwing for a career-high 321 yards and three touchdowns against A&M.

Alabama has witnessed individual breakout performances, but Finebaum noted that the rushing game still needs improvement. The team has managed only 54 against the Aggies, ranking them third worst in the SEC.

“There’s still some work to be done," Finebaum said. "They have (No. 20) Tennessee next week. They have (No. 22) LSU in three weeks. But I think they have a chance to get through all of that, and it’s going to come down to (No. 1) Georgia in the SEC championship game.”