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Paul Finebaum says unpredictable nature of 2024 has been ‘phenomenal’ for fans
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Paul Finebaum has witnessed countless college football seasons in his lifetime, and they come in all shapes and sizes.
But the week-to-week chaos that the ESPN college football analyst is enjoying in 2024 has been something to behold, and Finebaum believes it’s serving the sport well this fall and, most importantly, its loyal fans.
During his weekly Monday morning appearance on the “McElroy & Cubelic In The Morning” show, Finebaum was gushing about what has transpired during the first 2 months of the season.
“I think from the fan standpoint, it’s just been phenomenal,” Finebaum said. “Saturdays has just been like diving into a tank and not coming out for 12 hours. You’re really not 100 percent sure what you’re going to get. And I like that. There have been too many seasons where even in late September we’re going, ‘OK, we’re eight weeks away from the LSU-Alabama game’ and that’s all we talk about.”
That’s clearly not the case this season. It’s been the polar opposite. Finebaum, who’s an analyst but also a fan, can’t get enough of the weekly fun – even if he’s getting needled more often by followers because he’s getting more games wrong.
“It’s really hard to know what’s going to happen next, and it makes the job the most difficult for the pundits who are wrong more often these days than they’ve ever been, which makes the naysayers happen because they can blame those who predict football games for everything,” added Finebaum. “But I think it’s great. I’ve got a lot of reasons for it that have been discussed ad nauseam, but just within the SEC race, it’s hard to wrap your arms around it right now. That’s what we wanted with the 12-team Playoff and expanded SEC.”
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
