Paul Finebaum says leagues that have not shifted to conference-only schedules ‘are hoping for a miracle right now’
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Paul Finebaum continues to share his somber outlook when it comes to the outlook of the upcoming college football season.
Following news that the Big Ten and the Pac-12 have both shifted toward conference-only schedules for the 2020 season, Paul Finebaum recently shared his take on the status of the upcoming season during an appearance on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” on Monday.
The way the SEC Network host views things, the conferences that have yet to decide to shift toward a conference-only slate — the SEC, the ACC and the Big 12 –are simply throwing up a Hail Mary in mid-July.
“I think other conferences are hoping for a miracle right now, hoping that suddenly these numbers will go down dramatically but I think we all know the reality,” Finebaum said on the show. “So I think the outlook for the college football season, at this moment, is very very bleak.”
Here is what Finebaum shared when asked to expound on his take regarding the dim outlook for the season.
“Moving games to only conference games, that means instead of playing 12 games – instead of playing schools at which you have no earthly idea whether they have testing or any sort of protocol, to play with in your own league doesn’t necessarily solve the problem,” Finebaum responded. “In the Big Ten alone, you have Rutgers in one part of the country, Nebraska on the other. In the SEC you have Texas A&M, you have South Carolina and Florida in different places.
“And the real issue, just like you heard from Adam a minute ago, these hotspots are everywhere. Texas, Florida, California, and it’s hard to imagine that we’re going to be able to get games in, especially early in the season. So I think commissioners, like the SEC, is meeting today, trying to come up with contingency plans, but I think they’re tilting at windmills right now and trying to get this season in. It’s not over yet but the signs are very bad.”
That message is on point with where Finebaum has been in recent days and weeks. For college football to be played come the fall, things need to turn around in a hurry. Based on Finebaum’s response, he doesn’t have much faith in that happening.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
