Paul Finebaum rips Hunter Yurachek after first College Football Playoff committee appearance

Following Tuesday’s College Football Playoff rankings reveal show, Paul Finebaum didn’t hold back with his thoughts on the latest Top 25. But he also had poignant criticism for new CFP selection committee chair Hunter Yurachek.

Finebaum reacted to a clip of Yurachek – the athletics director at Arkansas – explaining why Oklahoma, Notre Dame and Alabama ranked. The Sooners came in at No. 8, followed by the Fighting Irish at No. 9 and the Crimson Tide at No. 10.

Earlier in the day, Finebaum called out the committee for putting Notre Dame ahead of Alabama. But as he listened to Yurachek’s explanation again, he said he still wasn’t sure what the new chairman was trying to say and instead deferred to guest Kevin Clark of Omaha Productions.

“Usually, I try to wait for somebody to interpret what Hunter Yurachek just attempted to say,” Finebaum said Wednesday on his show. “But I’ll leave that to my good friend, Kevin Clark. … I don’t know what he was talking about. Do you?”

Speaking with reporters on a teleconference after the reveal show, Yurachek pointed to the losses Notre Dame and Alabama suffered. He said the Fighting Irish fell to Texas A&M and Miami – both of which are ranked – while the Crimson Tide fell to 5-5 Florida State, in addition to Oklahoma last week. That FSU loss, he said, was a difference-maker in the discussion.

Paul Finebaum: Hunter Yurachek ran Arkansas program ‘into the ground’

After discussing the committee and questioning consistency in the rankings, Paul Finebaum called out the College Football Playoff for a lack of transparency. It went beyond the rankings, though. He’s looking for answers as to why Baylor athletics director Mack Rhoades stepped down following last week’s reveal show, which opened the door for Yurachek to become the chairman.

In the process, Finebaum also pointed to the state of the Arkansas football program amid its coaching search. That’s also on Yurachek’s plate as he details the CFP rankings each week on ESPN.

“They’re not transparent about anything,” Finebaum said of the committee. “They have yet to explain why the chairman of the committee got ejected after last week’s appearance. … Aren’t we entitled to know how these people get there? And Hunter Yurachek, who did such a good job running the Arkansas program into the ground this year, he’s now in charge and he’s trying to explain why certain teams should be or should not be ranked.”