Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: Paul Finebaum thinks an SEC team should make the College Football Playoff.
After Texas’ marquee win over Texas A&M on Nov. 28, the conversation has turned back to out-of-conference scheduling and if Texas should get a Week 1 mulligan after its loss to Ohio State to open the season. The Longhorns (9-3, 6-2 SEC) knocked off the last undefeated team in the SEC to end their regular season in the Lone Star Showdown.
Outside of the Buckeyes, Texas has lost to Florida and Georgia this year, with wins over Oklahoma and Vanderbilt to offset. According to SEC Network analyst Finebaum, Texas’ wins outweigh the losses, and if the Longhorns are left out, it would be unfairly punishing them for scheduling a tough out-of-conference game to open the year.
What did Paul Finebaum say about Texas to CFP?
Finebaum vehemently backed up Texas coach Steve Sarkisian’s assertions it would be bad for college football to leave Texas out of the playoffs, and he threw some digs at Curt Cignetti’s Indiana — whose scheduling tendencies have been controversial — in the process.
‘I think that Sarkisian makes a (relevant) point and it’s really about the first game,’ he said. ‘Texas decided to go to Ohio State and play a meaningful game in one of the biggest games of the year in college football. Had they played Kennesaw State which Indiana played or Oklahoma State, one of the worst teams in the country which Oregon played or some of these other competitors… They wouldn’t be in this situation. They had the bad loss to Florida but they have the significant wins which overcome that. So I think they’re gonna be penalized for doing the right thing and that’s wrong. And in my mind, Texas belongs in the College Football Playoff, even with that record.’
To date, no three-loss team has ever made the College Football Playoff, although it’s only Year 2 of the 12-team system.
Finebaum’s desk-mate Roman Harper presented the other side of the argument.
‘I go opposite,’ Harper said. ‘I think you can’t lose to Florida on the road, and unfortunately I thought they picked a good game vs Ohio State. I think you play these games because those early games give you so much leverage down the road if you do win that game. And ultimately I don’t think the committee wants to put a three-loss SEC team in… Yet. I think they wanna wait and see if Alabama gets in. And if Alabama loses the SEC Championship game, that would be their three-loss team in.’
Though Harper brings up Alabama, the bigger question mark will be Vanderbilt. Texas owns the head-to-head over Vanderbilt, but the Commodores (9-2, 5-2 SEC) play a huge game against Tennessee on Nov. 29. The outcome of that game could also set off a chain reaction in the rankings, as Vanderbilt seeks its first CFP appearance.