Paul Finebaum denies SEC bias but insists the CFP favors Notre Dame

Paul Finebaum spent Wednesday ranting about perceived Notre Dame bias in the College Football Playoff rankings. When confronted about his own SEC bias, he changed the subject.

The ESPN personality appeared on First Take and blasted the CFP committee for ranking Notre Dame at No. 9 despite Miami sitting at No. 13 with the same record and a head-to-head win over the Irish. Finebaum called it evidence of systematic favoritism toward Notre Dame, arguing that the committee had decided months ago the Irish would make the playoff regardless of the results.

“Notre Dame always seems to get a break, and I hate to be that guy, ‘Oh there’s a Notre Dame bias,’ but it’s pretty obvious there is Notre Dame bias,” Finebaum said. “It’s not only Alabama; look at Miami and try to figure out where they are ranked. And I remember on the first Sunday night of the college football season, Notre Dame went down to Miami, you know what happened?

“They lost. Shouldn’t that matter for something? But apparently, in the eyes of this committee, nothing seems to matter other than their own biases.”

Shae Cornette pushed back on the premise.

“Come on, guys. A ‘bias,’ Paul Finebaum? There are six teams in the CFP rankings from the SEC right now,” Cornette said. “What are we talking about? There’s one ranking difference between Notre Dame and Alabama, and I would argue the 8-9 game – if the playoffs started today – is much more difficult than I think it’s 10-7.”

Stephen A. Smith pressed Cornette on whether she was denying that Notre Dame gets favorable treatment. Cornette said she wasn’t denying it, but added that the SEC benefits from the same kind of preferential treatment. She then asked Finebaum if he could acknowledge that SEC bias exists.

“Well, I’m not sure about that, considering last year the SEC only had three schools,” Finebaum said. “And the argument, Shae, not to sound like I’m waving the SEC flag, is the SEC week-to-week is more difficult. And if you look at what Alabama has done, I mean, they’ve played four straight highly regarded ranked teams, where Notre Dame’s cherry picking.”

Shae Cornette: “There is also [bias] with the Southeastern Conference, let’s be clear. Can you agree to that Paul Finebaum?”

Paul Finebaum: “I’m not sure about that.” pic.twitter.com/GED8R3u5eg

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 19, 2025

The “not to sound like I’m waving the SEC flag” disclaimer is doing a lot of work in that sentence. Finebaum then spent the rest of his answer waving the SEC flag, arguing that Notre Dame cherry-picks opponents while SEC teams face the toughest schedule in college football week after week.

“They don’t have the grind that the SEC has, and that’s where I think where that’s some of this SEC bias perception comes in, but come on down to the south and try to deal with the schedules and see what your record is,” Finebaum continued. “I guarantee it would be inferior to the SEC records.”

The Notre Dame argument isn’t without merit. The Irish lost to both Texas A&M and Miami but are ranked ahead of Miami despite the head-to-head result. That’s legitimately questionable. The committee’s explanation would likely center on Notre Dame’s eight-game winning streak and the quality of its losses compared to Miami’s two defeats. Texas A&M is unbeaten. Miami lost to unranked SMU and Louisville. The committee values quality losses, which is why Notre Dame gets the benefit of the doubt.

But that same logic should cut both ways. If quality losses matter, why are the SEC teams ranked ahead of teams with better records and better wins? If head-to-head results don’t matter for Notre Dame and Miami, why would they suddenly matter for SEC teams? The answer is that the committee applies its criteria inconsistently, depending on which outcome it wants to justify.

Finebaum can see the inconsistency when it benefits Notre Dame. He can’t see it when it benefits the SEC.

The CFP rankings will shift over the next few weeks as teams play out their schedules. Notre Dame finishes with Stanford and could still make the playoff. Miami needs to beat Virginia Tech and Pitt, and might need help. Alabama has Auburn left and will likely stay in the top 12 regardless of what happens. The committee will make its final decisions based on a combination of record, strength of schedule, quality wins, and whatever subjective criteria it decides matter most that particular week.

Finebaum will be there to complain about Notre Dame bias while dismissing any suggestion that the SEC gets preferential treatment. Kirk Herbstreit already called critics “idiots” for suggesting ESPN favors the SEC because of its broadcast deal with the conference. The network’s college football personalities have circled the wagons around the idea that the SEC is better than everyone else.

Notre Dame might get favorable treatment from the CFP committee. It’s not unreasonable to think the committee would want them in the playoffs for ratings and storytelling purposes. But if that’s true, it’s also true that the SEC gets favorable treatment for the same reasons.

Finebaum made clear he believes Notre Dame receives favorable treatment from the committee. Whether that same treatment extends to the SEC isn’t really up for debate, but it’s a debate and one Finebaum chose not to engage with directly on Wednesday.