Paul Finebaum calls it ‘ridiculously unfair’ to put Notre Dame or Miami in CFP over Alabama
By David Wasson
Published:
ESPN college football pundit Paul Finebaum spent the final minutes before the College Football Playoff selection show began Sunday (noon ET, ESPN) calling out anyone who thinks slotting the Notre Dame Fighting Irish or the Miami Hurricanes over the Alabama Crimson Tide is the correct way to go.
“The answer is Alabama, but that Miami lawyer is me right now because there is a stipulation to it,” Finebaum said on SportsCenter. “If the committee does that, that’s fine – just cancel the championship games next year, because they are dead as we know it.
“There has to be a purpose behind this. It seems ridiculously unfair to put either Notre Dame or Miami in for sitting home and going to the mall (Saturday) while Alabama had to get on the field against a team it had beaten in late September in Athens. Everyone knows that, the committee knows that. … I would go with Alabama. There has to be some penalty for losing the game, and the penalty is dropping down. But there should be a built-in reward, and that is staying in the playoffs.”
Alabama (10-3) lost to Georgia 28-7 in the SEC Championship Game, but as Finebaum alluded downed the Bulldogs 24-21 earlier in the regular season. Miami finished the season 10-2 and did not qualify for the ACC Championship Game. Notre Dame also finished 10-2 and did not play in a postseason league title game as an independent.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. He also hosts Gulfshore Sports with David Wasson, weekdays from 3-5 pm across Southwest Florida and on FoxSportsFM.com. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
