Paul Finebaum scoffs at idea of cinderella story in expanded College Football Playoff

Some think that expansion of the playoff could provide a March Madness-type feel with upsets to look forward to. Paul Finebaum couldn’t disagree more, though, and actually hopes that that won’t be the case in the sport.

Finebaum spoke about the comparisons between the College Football Playoff and the NCAA Tournament during ‘McElroy and Cubelic In The Morning’ on Monday. He did note at first that it’s not something that’s completely far-fetched based on what we’ve witnesses in recent seasons on the field.

“Every once in a while, you do see – I mean you saw Liberty beat Arkansas a year or two ago. I mean those things happen – we saw New Mexico State beat Auburn,” said Finebaum.

Still, while they can happen, Finebaum doesn’t think it’d be great for college football’s product if they happened in the playoff unlike it is for college basketball’s product in March. He also just doesn’t believe they’d be all too frequent in the postseason anyways considering how they usually happen in the regular season.

“It’s not fun,” said Finebaum.

“The reason that those things happen is because the Power Five team that they’re playing doesn’t take them seriously,” Finebaum explained. “I mean show me a situation when it really meant something when that happened.”

Discussions around playoff expansion means more and more teams getting a shot at a national title. While the inclusion is great and all, that won’t always necessarily equate to better games and, overall, a better playoff.

As a media member, Finebaum understands that the storyline that comes from a quality Cinderalla are well-worth the following. However, when it comes to collegiate football, he’d just much rather see the Goliaths get after it rather than having any Davids crash the party.

“I’m just sick and tired of it,” said Finebaum. “I don’t want to watch those games – I want to see the best.”

“I know the media loves the underdog but there just aren’t very many underdog stories,” Finebaum said. “That’s for Hollywood. Let’s leave college football to the best trying to play the best.”

Finebaum on Group of Five in new playoff format: ‘They are simply going to be sacrificial lambs’

For the first time in the playoff era, there is a route to automatically be in the field. That’s not just for power conference teams but the Group of Five programs will have a path too.

We have yet to see how those playoff games involving G5 schools will turn out. To Paul Finebaum, though, he believes they will be a disaster.

In what might be a short era of the 12-team playoff, he does not believe the Group of Five will be able to compete when against some of the best teams in college football.

“There is no way they can compete,” Finebaum said. “They are simply going to be sacrificial lambs.”

So, why is the Group of Five being included in any of this at all? Finebaum is not sure.

Commissioners are looking to help each other out. Still, giving the G5 a spot at the table is not something that Finebaum would be willing to do.

“Knowing these commissioners, they try to be collegial,” Finebaum said. “I wouldn’t be. You wouldn’t be. But that’s why we’re in the fields that we’re in and they are able to get people to coalesce in a room around them like that.”