Paul Finebaum predictably rips CFP committee for ranking Penn State above SEC teams

The second edition of the 2024 College Football Playoff rankings came out on Tuesday night and 8-1 Penn State checked in at No. 4, one of three Big Ten teams in the top four of the rankings. The SEC’s only top four team was Texas and with a second loss, this one coming to Ole Miss in Week 11, the Georgia Bulldogs fell to No. 12 and outside of the projected CFP bracket with Boise State the highest-ranked Group of Five team (ranked No. 13) taking the final spot. 

On his appearance on ESPN’s Get UP Paul Finebaum ripped the committee for Georgia’s ranking that by Michigan athletic director and Selection Committee Chair Warde Manuel’s explanation fell because of an inconsistent offense and head-to-head results. 

Finebaum said, “You have to start by saying that what the committee said last night was a complete travesty. There’s no getting around it. I know they work hard. They sit in a room at a five-star resort ordering caviar and champagne and sit around and talk about college football when they have 4,000 members to look at. So, I don’t know how they came up with these numbers.”

Finebaum lobbied hard for the Bulldogs, continuing, “Georgia started the season against Clemson which has been ranked in the top 10 at the time. Their road schedule has been the toughest of anyone in the country, as you pointed out. They went to Alabama, Texas, and Ole Miss. They’ve all been ranked in the top 10. They also went to Kentucky, which is very poor, but they did beat Ole Miss, which is ranked inside the system.”

In Finebaum’s perfect world with Georgia climbing up inside the top 12, another team has to fall, so he took direct aim at the Penn State Nittany Lions. 

They have a chance. They’ll play Tennessee this weekend and if they win they’ll probably end up back in the committee’s good graces, but how the committee can disrespect them and put schools like Penn State? Are you serious? What has Penn State done this year? Do they even have a — their most impressive win, I think, was at Southern Cal, a five-loss team, and against Michigan, another five-loss team. Somewhere in there, they beat Illinois, which I haven’t seen in a couple of weeks,”

If Finebaum, ESPN’s preeminent college football voice and forever an SEC mouthpiece actually bothered to watch Big Ten football then he’d know that Penn State hasn’t played Michigan. However, when it comes to looking for the Nittany Lion’s impressive win, he does have a point. 

Penn State does not have a win over a team ranked in either week’s CFP top 25 as Illinois has fallen to 6-3.