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Paul Finebaum explains why there is a lot of pressure on SMU, Clemson
By Ethan Stone
Published:
Is the ACC better than it looks? Probably, according to Paul Finebaum.
On Monday morning, Finebaum made an appearance on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning to, among other items, discuss the ACC getting not one, but 2 teams into the 12-team CFP field.
Clemson is a given. The Tigers won the ACC Championship and earned the ACC bid. There’s no debating there. However, SMU cracking the field over Alabama – even with 2 losses to Alabama’s 3 – was a bit of a head-scratcher to some.
Finebaum didn’t look at it from a perspective of right or wrong. Instead, he looked back to the committee snubbing undefeated Florida State and insisted that it affected the committee’s thought process for this season.
Here’s more from Finebaum on the topic.
“The ACC was the conference in the middle of this entire conversation this year, and I think the ACC — through SMU ironically — was the biggest beneficiary… I think the FSU hangover from a year ago today really affected this committee,” Finebaum said. “That as well as the obvious that if Alabama had gotten in, it would have devalued all these conference championship games.”
Finebaum continued:
“The ACC looks better probably than it actually is. The fact the ACC has 2 and the SEC only has 3 is pretty remarkable. I also think there’s a lot of pressure on SMU and Clemson. If SMU gets blown out or loses to Penn State, and I think the real interesting one is Clemson (at Texas).If Texas beats Clemson, that would give Clemson an 0-3 mark against the SEC this year, and I’m pretty sure that’s going to happen. That’s pretty ironic. Everyone knows about the 34-3 loss to Georgia to begin the year… that even marks the argument for the ACC more difficult.”
It’s an interesting point he makes regarding the ACC having a lot of pressure on them. Clemson is indeed winless against the SEC this season, and though SMU doesn’t face an SEC team in the first round, the Mustangs losing big to Penn State would likely call into question the qualifications needed to be considered a Playoff team across future seasons.
The first round of the CFP kicks off in just under 2 weeks.
Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.
