Paul Finebaum has hilarious reaction to Alabama's 2024 SEC schedule reveal: "I am sure it will give Nick Saban heartburn"

On Wednesday, the SEC revealed its 2024 schedule. Nick Saban, Alabama's wily old coach, will have some thinking to do with the curve balls thrown by the schedule.

While appearing on the SEC Network, ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum said that Nick Saban would likely be troubled by the scheduling, placing a tough team in the Tide's way before the annual Iron Bowl game against the Auburn Tigers.

“The idea that Alabama has to go to Oklahoma the week before (the Iron Bowl), as opposed to playing Mercer or some other cupcake is extraordinary,” Finebaum said. “And I’m sure it will give Nick Saban heartburn tonight.”

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Alabama's schedule

The Alabama Crimson Tide will start their season against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers on Aug. 31. They will proceed with Southeastern Conference play on Sept. 28 in an epic clash against the Georgia Bulldogs.

The following is Alabama's 2024 schedule that Nick Saban has to contend with:

• Aug. 31: vs Western Kentucky
• Sept. 7: vs USF
• Sept. 14: at Wisconsin
• Sept. 21: Bye
• Sept. 28: vs Georgia
• Oct. 5: at Vanderbilt
• Oct. 12: vs South Carolina
• Oct. 19: at Tennessee
• Oct. 26: vs Missouri
• Nov. 2: Bye
• Nov. 9: at LSU
• Nov. 16: vs Mercer
• Nov. 23: at Oklahoma
• Nov. 30: vs Auburn

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Nick Saban has a fixture headache

The game that immediately jumps off the fixture list is Bama vs the Dawgs on the opening week of SEC play.

The contest has been a huge tussle in the past few years after Kirby Smart turned the Dawgs into perennial winners, just like Bama under Nick Saban. Analyst Greg McElroy circled that fixture as the one to look out for during the fixture reveal on the SEC Network.

“Right now, those are the top two programs in the sport, whatever order you have them in is perfectly fine,” Greg McElroy said. “I personally might not always agree with the order that some have it in. I still think Alabama and Georgia are neck and neck. I might lean toward Bama ever so slightly."

“The two top teams in the sport going to Tuscaloosa for that game. Bragging rights on the line. National championship implications on the line. The possibility for a first-round bye in the 12-team playoff. A possibility to get the conference title game, knowing that Georgia still has to go to Texas later in the season, so I think that game is pivotal. Every time they tee it up, it’s a big one.”

With top teams like the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners now in the SEC, Saban knows the importance of winning the big games, as the ramifications will echo well into the College Football Playoffs.