Marcus Freeman’s Notre Dame is preparing for the upcoming season while many rival programs are already focused on postseason play. Despite a lackluster start earlier in the year, the Irish showed enough potential in 2025 to be considered playoff contenders.
Paul Finebaum Throws Notre Dame a Curveball by Favoring Miami
On “The Matt Barrie Show,” football analyst Paul Finebaum joined Matt to discuss the College Football Playoff First Round matchups. Even though Notre Dame didn’t make the playoff, Finebaum didn’t hold back his usual criticism of the program and its fans.
“I’m glad the first round is over because we really have some classic storylines now,” Finebaum said. “In the first round, we clearly did not, and I just mean, I’d like to see Miami win it all just to shut Notre Dame fans up.”
Miami gained the edge over Notre Dame in the playoff race after defeating the Irish 27-24 in their season opener on Aug. 31. Despite that, many fans felt Notre Dame ended the season stronger and consistently ranked higher than Miami in the weekly CFP rankings.
However, Finebaum defended the CFP committee’s decision to leave Notre Dame out, calling the program’s public reaction “embarrassing” and “beneath a great institution”. While many think that PFSN CFB Playoff Meter’s No. 4 team, Notre Dame, deserved a playoff spot, Finebaum pointed to the Irish’s independent status as the main reason for their exclusion.
Meanwhile, this season also saw controversy surrounding the inclusion of two Group of 5 teams, Tulane and James Madison. Critics claimed they didn’t deserve to be in the playoffs. James Madison lost 51-34 to Oregon, and Tulane fell 41-10 to Ole Miss in the first round, which fueled the debate.
Many felt that teams like 10-2 Notre Dame or 9-3 Texas were more deserving, but Finebaum offered a different perspective.
“I know everyone’s picking on JMU and Tulane,” Finebaum said. “I said this selection day, and I’ll say it again. They’re not the problem. The format is the problem. They were going to get in no matter what. They didn’t take a spot from Notre Dame. They didn’t take a spot from Texas or Vanderbilt. The format that was signed and agreed on years ago made it such that those were going to be the teams that are getting in.”
Notre Dame could have responded to Finebaum’s criticism by dominating a bowl game after missing the College Football Playoff. However, Freeman’s squad chose to skip all bowl games, and Finebaum called the decision the “laughing stock” of college football.
