Paul Finebaum goes off script, declares Michigan would've won CFP even vs. Georgia
Michigan capped off their undefeated season with a big-time win in the national championship game on Monday, defeating Washington 34-14 to declare themselves the kings of college football.
Monday marked the first College Football Playoff national championship matchup without an SEC team since the first year of the CFP when Ohio State and Oregon squared off to finish the 2014 season.
College football analysts Paul Finebaum and Booger McFarland typically favor the SEC, a conference regarded by many as the best in college football. That paired with some of the speculation that surrounded the four teams that did make this year’s College Football Playoff led to the two being asked if the Georgia Bulldogs were in the four-team field, who would have been this season’s national champion?
“Michigan,” Finebaum admitted on ESPN’s ‘Get Up’. “I have said all along I thought Georgia was the best team in the country, but after last night I changed my mind. And listen hey I say this to Georgia, if you wanted to be the champion beat Alabama, quit losing to them, and ultimately the best team is the national champion.”
Finebaum’s words came as a surprise to many, with the SEC Network host reluctantly admitting that the right team won the national championship.
Georgia’s loss to Alabama in the SEC Championship game ultimately led to their omission from the College Football Playoff, as the Bulldogs fanbase joined Florida State in devastation with neither team making the College Football Playoff in its final season as a four-team playoff.
The two teams faced off in the Capital One Orange Bowl where Georgia destroyed the Seminoles in a dominant 63-3 win, extending their record to 42-2 in the past three seasons (with losses only coming to Alabama in SEC Championship games). Which lead to McFarland giving quite the cryptic answer to the presented question.
“You know what Greeny, I think I’m gonna pass,” McFarland said to host Mike Greenberg. “I’m not gonna answer the question because I’m gonna let Michigan have their morning this morning. Jim Harbaugh deserves to have his morning. I do know this, there’s a team that’s only lost once in the last two and a half, three years and I guarantee you they would love a shot at the Michigan Wolverines.”
Next season, questions like this won’t need to be asked, with the College Football Playoff field expanding from four teams to 12 as all of college football’s elite will all get a fair shot at playing for a national championship. With the Wolverines and the Bulldogs meeting in the postseason definitely being a possibility.