While much was made of Tulane and James Madison’s inability to keep up with Ole Miss and Oregon on Saturday, Miami’s win over Texas A&M was a statement all its own.
The argument over whether multiple Group of Five teams (or any of them) should be allowed into the CFP rages on. However, Miami made good on its inclusion with a hard-fought 10-3 victory over the Aggies. In the eyes of many, the triumph justified the committee’s decision to include them over Notre Dame.
ESPN’s Paul Finebaum has been among those deriding Notre Dame and its fans over the way they reacted to being snubbed by the CFP. He’s shown then no quarter or mercy, and, based on his comments after Miami’s win, he won’t be letting up anytime soon.
During an appearance on The Matt Barrie Show, Finebaum said he’d like to see Miami keep winning. It’s not every day you see the SEC Network host get behind an ACC school, but he has a particular reason for wanting this.
“I’m glad the first round is over because we really have some classic storylines now. In the first round, we clearly did not,” Finebaum said.” I’d like to see Miami win it all, just to shut Notre Dame fans up.”
Earlier in the appearance, Finebaum also had a little fun noting all the “Notre Dame writers and bloggers and pundits and influencers and fans” who chastised Alabama for struggling early against Oklahoma before the Crimson Tide came alive and won that CFP game.
“Some of the stupidest tweets I’ve ever seen,” he said. “Maybe a lesson not to tweet in the middle of something, because that’s sports.”
As much as the Fighting Irish griped, Miami did defeat them during the regular season, so that was always going to be a huge factor in the final decision.
Notre Dame would have a chance to send a message of their own by dominating whichever bowl game it played in, but the program opted out of participating in any bowl games after missing out on the CFP.
The good news for the Irish is that they still have plenty of defenders on ESPN/ABC airwaves.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.