Paul Finebaum names his top 4 teams, and 1 big surprise, after SEC's Week 9 action
With the 2020 college football season entering its stretch run, we have a pretty clear picture of who the top teams in the nation are.
On Sunday morning’s SportsCenter, SEC Network host Paul Finebaum ranked his top 4 teams.
Per Finebaum, the top 4 is made up of Alabama, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Clemson (via 247Sports):
“No. 4 we start with Clemson and it’s hard to believe they’re 4, but they lost and they didn’t play yesterday,” Finebaum said. “But they have a path back, of course, being the ACC championship rematch with Notre Dame. At No. 3, they had a rough outing yesterday, the Ohio State Buckeyes. They still won, but they played their best competition of the year. Justin Fields struggled but the Buckeyes are sitting there at 3 behind Notre Dame. We’ll see them after Thanksgiving against North Carolina. The Irish are itching for a chance to get back to the College Football Playoff.
“At No. 1, there really isn’t any dispute anymore, Alabama is clearly the No. 1 team in the country. They demolished Kentucky yesterday and they have Auburn this week in the famous Iron Bowl. The final team, America’s sweetheart, how can you not love Northwestern? Pat Fitzgerald is a phenomenal coach and everyone’s crazy after that big win yesterday over Wisconsin.”
Can a non-Power 5 team like Cincinnati or BYU slip into the Playoff picture? It’ll probably take a loss by 1 of Finebaum’s top 4 teams for that to become a possibility.
Reads that Ohio State played their toughest competition of the year yesterday.
(looks at who they played)
Huh. Not even Cincinnati.
Bama looks like the best team in the country by a lot. Ohio State and Clemson are not all they think they are. ND always has a large group of people claiming they’re a championship caliber team. Playing a weak ass ACC schedule this year could make anyone look better than they are. While Florida has improved on offense (at least in the passing game), the defense seems to be the worst I’ve seen at UF in decades. Because I’m a fan, I hold out some hope for them to “play with” Bama, but there’s no getting around how much better of a team Bama is. Hoping we can play a competitive game in the SEC Championship (also hoping we get there with only one loss), but I’m not delusional.
Lastly, I’m hoping the Playoff Selection Committee realizes that BYU and Cincinnati are good teams who would have multiple losses if they played an all SEC schedule. Also hoping the Committee tells the PAC12 to focus on protesting and social upheaval – and that they’re a weak conference who doesn’t deserve to be in the playoffs with their BS 6 game schedule.
Just had to bring race and politics into it didn’t you?
Race? No. My comments had absolutely nothing to do with race. I just poked some fun (truth) about the political biases in PAC12 country.
I don’t usually agree with you, but I read your post to be just as you explained. Some people are always jumping to conclusions.
I’m not going to claim that Notre Dame is a championship caliber team until they make it into the finals. But I’d say they have a good chance of making the playoff again this year.