Paul Finebaum found a new target for his frustration on Tuesday. During the an episode of First Take, the longtime ESPN commentator called out the College Football Playoff committee.
He accused the group of favoring Notre Dame after the latest set of rankings placed the Fighting Irish at No. 9, which was one spot ahead of Alabama.
The close loss to Oklahoma didn't help. But the two team have identical records with the Tide having a better strength of schedule and head-to-head results.
“Absolutely not,” Finebaum said when asked if Notre Dame’s placement was valid. “It’s not because of Alabama, it’s just because Notre Dame always seems to get a break. And I hate to be that guy that says, ‘Oh, there’s this Notre Dame bias.’ But it’s pretty obvious there is Notre Dame bias.”
Finebaum argued that the committee ignored key results, including Notre Dame’s early-season loss at Miami. An outcome he believes should matter more than it appears to in the committee room. He suggested that the Irish continue to benefit from the program’s national brand and independent status.
“It’s not only Alabama,” he added. “Look at Miami and try to figure out where they are ranked....Apparently, in the eyes of this committee, nothing seems to matter other than their own biases.”
Notre Dame’s two losses came against top-15 teams (Texas A&M and Miami) and the Irish have since beaten USC and dominated Pitt. However, Alabama has four ranked wins, including one over No. 4 Georgia. The Irish may get “the benefit of the doubt," but come the end of the season, there's no conference championship to fall back on.
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