Notre Dame is 7-1 and ranked No. 4, but Paul Finebaum isn’t buying it. On Sunday’s The Matt Barrie Show, the ESPN and SEC Network host said the Fighting Irish have “no business” in the College Football Playoff unless they win at least one important game, namely, the Saturday night game in South Bend when No. 1 Miami comes to town. It is the same opponent that cost Notre Dame a playoff spot last season, and Finebaum is circling the game as the determinant of Notre Dame’s status for this year.
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His argument is about the resume, not the record. The Fighting Irish went 10-2 last year, won their last 10 games, and were still the first team left out at No. 11. Miami took the last at-large bid on a 27-24 head-to-head win. This year Notre Dame is scoring 40.3 points a game and allowing 13.4, and the only blemish is a 28-24 loss at BYU. But Finebaum says the schedule hasn’t asked much of them.
“But Notre Dame is the one everyone will be watching this week,” Finebaum said during the Matt Barrie Show, according to ESPN College Football YouTube Channel. “It’s the marquee game of the week, which is saying a great deal, by the way. If they lose, I mean, I’ve already said it, and a lot of people have already said, they’ll be left out, but that may be more difficult because of the absolute carnage.”
“But it will be a healthy debate, though. It won’t be as clear-cut as last year. But I would argue they have no business being in the playoffs if you can’t win at least one important game.”
Finebaum admitted that the decision is more difficult than it was a year ago, given the growing turmoil across college football. Seven AP Top 25 teams lost on Halloween, including Ohio State at USC, which opens the door for a 10-2 team. Notre Dame also has a safety net it lacked last year: an agreement with the playoff that guarantees the Fighting Irish a spot if they finish in the top 12 of the final rankings.
Finebaum did not praise Miami either. The Hurricanes are 8-0 after beating North Carolina 38-35 and recovering an onside kick in the final minute. Notre Dame’s own Saturday wasn’t great either. The Fighting Irish beat Navy 35-13 at Gillette Stadium, but trailed 13-7 late in the second quarter and led only 14-13 at halftime. They shut Navy out in the second half and finished with 426 yards, 204 on the ground. Nolan James Jr. ran for 107 on nine carries, and CJ Carr threw two touchdowns.
Barrie laid out the résumé problem. The Fighting Irish’s best win at Wisconsin, 41-13 in Week 1, and the Badgers just lost 30-0 at Iowa and fell out of the poll. SMU visits South Bend on November 21 and took a hit of its own, losing 30-27 at Syracuse on a touchdown with 17 seconds left. Barrie said he still thinks a 10-2 Notre Dame gets it on because of everything falling around them, but he called it a real test case.
That’s the point of Finebaum’s warning. The BYU game was Notre Dame’s first against a ranked opponent, and it lost. After Miami, only Boston College, SMU, and a trip to Syracuse remain, none of which will significantly strengthen its résumé.
Miami and Notre Dame meet in South Bend, with the Hurricanes averaging 49 points per game, while Notre Dame’s defense ranks fourth nationally in the FBS, allowing just 13 points per game.