Paul Finebaum says Florida didn’t look like a top 25 team in lackluster win over Miami
By Keith Farner
Published:
Paul Finebaum said he was underwhelmed by Florida’s effort Saturday in a lackluster win against Miami.
The ESPN analyst held his weekly visit on the Birmingham-based WJOX, 94.5 FM program “The Roundtable,” and reviewed the Week 0 matchup in Orlando.
“They did not look like a top 10 team, they did not look like a top 25 team, but they survived it and surviving a terrible night with a win is a lot better than a loss,” Finebaum said. “A loss would have really put the eyes in focus on Dan Mullen and Feleipe Franks. Instead, a lot of teeth gnashing for the next two weeks, but I don’t think it’s going to matter much. They get up to Kentucky and win that game, this will not matter much. I came away thinking Miami looked like the better team, Jarren Williams was unbelievable. But in the end, I don’t think it’s going to have a dramatic effect on the outcome of the season.”
Florida most notably had four turnovers and was 2-for-10 on third down chances, though the Gators were 4-for-4 on fourth down and put up 306 yards in the 24-20 win.
Finebaum also contrasted Florida coach Dan Mullen’s light-hearted and joking post-game interview with the same setup a year ago with Alabama’s Nick Saban coming off a big win.
“Big win, Saban’s angry, the whole topic was Saban the next day and interestingly I think it’s a fair conversation to talk about Dan Mullen,” Finebaum said. “But he’s an energy freak and just oozing that positivity. He knows what he has there and he also knows he’s playing an average Miami team versus a really good Miami team or a really good team period, because he wouldn’t have beaten a good team.”
Florida returns to action Sept. 7 against UT-Martin, and then will play at Kentucky on Sept. 14.
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
