Paul Finebaum Reacts To Kirk Herbstreit’s Playoff Criticism
Paul Finebaum Reacts To Kirk Herbstreit’s Playoff Criticism
Kirk Herbstreit made headlines this week during an appearance on the Keyshawn, JWill & Zubin show.
While reflecting on this past college football season, Herbstreit expressed his displeasure with the current playoff structure.
“Our postseason is as bad as there is,” he said.
“And we have got to figure out a system that opens up opportunities. The season ends Jan. 12, I can already tell you 2021 Ohio State’s coming out of the Big Ten, Clemson’s coming out of the ACC, Alabama’s coming out of the SEC.
I can say in 2023, Ohio State is coming out of the Big Ten, Clemson’s coming out of the ACC and Alabama (in the SEC). … If that’s where we are is that right, is that healthy for the sport when 98 or 99 percent of the participants realize they don’t have a chance before the season starts?
“We’ve got to look at this 2020 year and realize that we have to tweak the system for the betterment of the sport. We’re at a fork in the road right now on a lot of levels and we’ve got to look at some potential changes.”
Paul Finebaum agreed with that sentiment.
“He’s right,” Finebaum said.
“The playoff needs to be expanded otherwise it’s going to primarily be the same four every year. It’s bigger than just that. It’s attracting the country when the competition is its fiercest. The weekend of the CFP championship game is the same weekend as the NFL Wild Card.
“When college football is at its zenith, it loses the country and if it’s the same four teams, if you know it’s going to be the same four teams in August, you have to let more teams in or people will tune out.”
Will the powers that be heed Herbstreit and Finebaum’s warnings? Probably not.
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.
