Paul Finebaum is backtracking, making excuses for SEC not making the title game

Another day, another excuse from ESPN’s Paul Finebaum about the SEC getting shorthanded in this year’s College Football Playoff. According to On3, Finebaum took to The Matt Barrie Show, to vent about the SEC’s disappointing showing in the expanded playoff. 

And instead of conceding that maybe the SEC isn’t the college football juggernaut it once was, he instead made the excuse that the expanded playoff hurt the conference’s chances. Wow, we’ve reached new lows for SEC supporters. 

“You think about Georgia, (they) would have been in the four-team playoff this year. Ohio State probably wouldn’t have,” Finebaum said. “So it does make it more complicated. I mean, there’s a couple SEC teams in the past that probably wouldn’t have gotten through a gauntlet like this, but I think in many ways, we almost end the season with where we began it with Ohio State. I mean, they’re still the most talented team, and that I was vacillating and I was always on Ohio State. 

“But as I walked out of the stadium a couple of hours ago, I kept thinking more about what Texas let go. If you were ever going to beat Ohio State Friday night was it. And they couldn’t do it.”

Because just like the SEC had a “harder” chance to win a national championship, so did every team that played in the playoff this year, regardless of the conference. 

Oregon, who was the consensus No. 1 team entering the playoff, was greeted with a rematch against Ohio State after earning a first round bye; Arizona State had to play the SEC championship game runner-up in their first playoff game; Boise State’s historic season was rewarded with Penn State, the Big Ten runner-up. 

So yeah, pity Georgia for having to face a Notre Dame team whose best win was Texas A&M -- ironically another SEC team. 

Instead of making excuses for the SEC about why they haven’t had a team in the national championship game in consecutive seasons, we accept maybe they aren’t as dominant as they once were. Everyone else, including some of the measly ol’ Group of 5 teams have found a way to bridge the gap. 

Paul Finebaum’s excuses for SEC embarrassing showing in the College Football Playoff adds to delusion of SEC fans

I don’t know why the SEC feels privileged when it comes to the postseason. I hate this mantra that they play the toughest schedule so they should get a pass when it comes to CFP consideration. 

The only reason I would agree with this is if we’re talking about one-loss SEC teams that lost to each other and tiebreakers aside, nothing else separates them. But there was a clear divide between the top teams in the SEC this year. 

They went 4-3 in non-CFP bowl games this year. Yeah that just screams dominant. Alabama, who was the conference's biggest argument to get into the CFP, couldn’t even beat a Michigan team that was missing its two best defenders.

Shane Beamer was more concerned with fighting Bret Bielema than he was winning a football game and Mike Elko did his best choke job in letting USC come back to win in the Las Vegas Bowl. 

Here’s all of the SEC’s wins during bowl season: Florida over Tulane, LSU over Baylor, Ole Miss over Duke, Missouri over Iowa, Arkansas over Texas Tech and Vanderbilt over Georgia Tech. Yeah, I’m not impressed. 

The only reasonable win for the conference after the regular season was Texas’ win over Clemson and that still wasn’t all that impressive considering the Longhorns were favorites to win. It’s time to stop putting the SEC on a porcelain pedestal. 

Yes, they typically have the strongest conference schedules compared to all the other leagues. But they also had one bowl game win over the Big Ten and none in the CFP. In contrast, the Big Ten had five over the SEC, including CFP games. 

Stop with the excuses. It’s OK to no longer be the top dog. Instead of trying to justify why things are changing, appreciate the tables are finally balanced.