Paul Finebaum Explains Why Notre Dame Deserves Playoff Spot
Paul Finebaum Explains Why Notre Dame Deserves Playoff Spot
Notre Dame fell to Clemson in the ACC Title Game this past weekend.
Despite that, ESPN commentator Paul Finebaum believes that the Fighting Irish deserve a spot in the College Football Playoff ahead of somebody like Texas A&M.
“It’s not a compelling case but you also have to look at it and say does Texas A&M have an unequivocal shot or case to be the No. 4 team and I think that’s where it gets problematic for the Aggies,” Finebaum said on Sunday morning’s edition on ‘SportsCenter.’
“You can’t put all the stock on that 28 pint loss to Alabama but you also have to look at what’s happened since then. They’ve been very consistent. But they beat Tennessee yesterday, which is a very pedestrian team at 3-7,” he continued.
“Notre Dame was playing with two or three of the best teams in the country. Ultimately, I think the committee is going to look at Notre Dame’s win at Clemson and that’s going to be the difference maker.”
Jimbo Fisher, however, disagrees with Finebaum’s assessment. He believes his squad deserves a shot at the College Football Playoff, not a group that just got destroyed by Clemson.
“You want me to tell you why,” Fisher said during the postgame game interview on ESPN.
“We play in the best league in ball. We got beat by the number one team in the country (Alabama) who had another superstar on the team when they played us named (Jaylen) Waddle. They ain’t even playing with him now,” he continued.
“No team in SEC history ever lost one game and not been in it. The other leagues — I love them all. If we can’t play in this league and be in the playoff — something is wrong.”
Will Notre Dame or Texas A&M ultimately make the cut?
Time will tell.
Jennifer Withers Hoey is a former Business Development Manager who transitioned to writing about sports. With valuable connections all over the West Coast, she has used those contacts to break some of the most interesting stories pertaining to the Portland Trail Blazers, Oregon Ducks, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Seattle Supersonics (RIP), and more.
