Tag: Paul Finebaum

Dabo Swinney reacts to Paul Finebaum’s criticism: ‘I’d like some time out’

Dabo started off praising Finebaum and ended with an argument for adult nap time.

The feud between Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney and ESPN college football analyst Paul Finebaum hasn’t really escalated, but we do have the latest development in it.

To briefly recap, Swinney ranted about a perceived bias against his team and the ACC in general from the college football world following Clemson’s win Saturday over South Carolina. He praised the Tigers but said they have to be perfect, unlike some other teams, to remain in contention for the College Football Playoff, calling it “the dadgumest thing.”

Tuesday, Finebaum slammed Swinney over his remarks, calling the defending national championship coach “the most annoying winner in all of sports.” He criticized the program for its weak schedule, the obvious negative in an otherwise strong playoff resume, and said the Tigers won’t play “a legitimate team” until the playoff semifinal game later this month. He also said Swinney “can’t keep his trap shut” and needs someone to “send him to timeout” with a pacifier.

Well, Swinney was asked about Finebaum’s criticism and ad hominem attack.

“I hate I missed it,” he said (just after the 13:30 mark in the video below). “I’m sure it was riveting.”

But Swinney didn’t actually escalate the feud. He offered a folksy, quintessential Dabo response to it, starting off saying Finebaum is just doing his job and ending with an argument for adult nap time.

“Paul’s great at what he does. I’m not gonna dislike somebody ’cause he’s great at his job. A lot of people don’t like me ’cause I’m good at my job or because I wear this logo. They don’t know me as a person. They just don’t like me ’cause I’m passionate about doing a good job. He works for the SEC. … That’s his job. I would never be upset by a person because he does a great job. I mean, Paul Finebaum is great at what he does.”

Swinney also said much of Finebaum’s job is also to stir the pot and create “great conversation and great drama,” which he “does an awesome job” of. He continued:

“We’re the Red Sox, he’s the Yankees. You’re not going to have a Yankees guy stand up and talk great things about the Red Sox. That’s not what he’s paid to do.”

And then he went all in on the idea of adult nap time, recalling his life in first grade with his Happy Days lunchbox, a bologna sandwich and a mat on which to nap.

“I’d like some time out. I’d like to take a nap. Y’all remember first grade? I loved that. … We should have adult time out time. Let’s just all bring a mat, take a nap and be good. I never had a pacifier though, so I don’t know how that’d work out.”

Wednesday, Finebaum returned to Get Up and responded to Swinney’s response: “I’m speechless. First of all, you have to give him credit. … I can’t really be upset. I love what he did because he embraced the conversation, which is different than almost any college or pro [coach].”

Clemson will play No. 23 Virginia at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday in the ACC championship game. The four College Football Playoff teams will be announced Sunday.

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Paul Finebaum slams ‘most annoying winner’ Dabo Swinney

Paul Finebaum on Dabo Swinney: “Somebody just give the man a pacifier.”

The undefeated Clemson Tigers are massive favorites in Saturday’s ACC Championship game against 9-3 Virginia, but a shocking loss against the Cavaliers would almost certainly drop the reigning national champions out of the College Football Playoff conversation. After his team destroyed rival South Carolina this weekend, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney railed on what he believes is a bias against his program, and complained that people don’t want to be in the Playoff in the first place.

“If we lose this game, they gon’ kick us out. They don’t want us in there anyway. We would drop to [No.] 20, you know? Georgia loses to this very same team, and the very next day it’s, ‘How do we keep Georgia in it?'”

Swinney was almost certainly just trying to motivate his team, but Clemson’s resume is unquestionably the weakest among the four current projected playoff teams, with just one win over a ranked opponent all season (against a Texas A&M team that is now 7-5).

On Tuesday, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum blasted Swinney over his rant, and joked that somebody needs to give the coach a pacifier.

“I think that Dabo Swinney is the most annoying winner in all of sports. I mean the guy just can’t keep his trap shut. Somebody just give the man a pacifier, send him to timeout, and we’ll check in with him on December 28th when he finally plays a legitimate team during this entire college football season.”

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Paul Finebaum on the future of Nick Saban, Alabama: ‘This dynasty’s window is closing’

Paul Finebaum’s outlook for Nick Saban isn’t great.

For the first time since the College Football Playoff was implemented in 2014, Alabama will (most likely) not be one of the four teams competing for a national championship.

Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide, whose most recent title was in the 2017-18 season, lost Saturday to Auburn for their second defeat of the season, effectively knocking them out of the playoff picture with so many undefeated and one-loss teams still in the hunt. They also lost earlier this season to LSU, which will play Georgia in the SEC championship game Saturday.

ESPN college football analyst Paul Finebaum says Alabama’s issues are about more than this season, which is why he argues the Saban’s dominance in college football is coming to an end.

“We’re not saying he’s done,” Finebaum said Tuesday on Get Up about the 68-year-old coach. “We’re saying this dynasty’s window is closing very tightly.”

Alabama lost starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to a season-ending hip injury earlier this month in the team’s win against Mississippi State, and that was after he missed the Arkansas game in October while recovering from ankle surgery. Sophomore Mac Jones is finishing out the season as the starter, but as we saw against Auburn, even with so many explosive players on offense, he has some catching up to do.

Finebaum explained what he sees as the bigger picture for Saban’s and Alabama’s future.

He said to Get Up host Mike Greenberg:

“It’s been happening very slowly over the past couple years, but I think over the last couple of months, we’ve seen it. It started with the 28-point blowout to Clemson [in the 2018-19 national championship game]. Saban said, ‘We have to get the Alabama factor back.’ It didn’t happen. It has been a really disappointing season. People are saying, ‘Are you kidding? Alabama went 10-2, and they’re still ranked in the top 10.’ But that’s the difference at Alabama. Couple of reasons why, Greeny. Staff turnover has been a constant churn, especially on the defensive side. Recruiting is an issue. They’re still No. 2 or 3 in recruiting, but they’re being pressed hard by Clemson and Georgia.

“And I’ll say this: I know that everyone will be surprised to know that I covered the end of Bear Bryant’s tenure about 38 years ago as a young reporter — yes, young — and I saw some of the very same signs. He’s considered the greatest coach of all time. Saban surpassed him. It looks very similar.”

Not everyone agrees with Finebaum’s assessment, including Dan Orlovsky, who was sitting across from Finebaum and Greenberg. Orlovsky pointed out how Alabama’s most recent title was only two years ago and said the team has plenty to look forward to as its younger players gain experience.

Stephen A. Smith was also not a fan of Finebaum’s argument, calling it “Absolute Blasphemy”.

Finebaum expanded on his initial reaction to Alabama’s loss while on SportsCenter on Sunday. He described the Crimson Tide as lacking discipline and the defensive prowess it’s typically known for, and put the blame squarely on Saban.

He said:

“He promised after the 28-point loss to Clemson that the Alabama factor would be re-established. Has anyone seen it? I haven’t. Penalties and galore. Thirteen penalties, five false starts. There’s no discipline, not enough discipline on this team, and when you start really breaking it down, defense is where the problem is. This team against the last three top-20 opponents has given up 44, 46 and 48 points! That’s not the Nick Saban team I’m accustomed to.”

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Paul Finebaum gives his top-six following Week 13

Paul Finebaum released his new top-six after Week 13. Where is Georgia football?

Following a Week 13 that saw Georgia’s offense struggle in a win over Texas A&M, the SEC Network’s Paul Finebaum released his new top-six teams as we creep closer to the College Football Playoff.

This weekend, the CFP’s top five teams all took care of business, but No. 6 Oregon’s CFP dreams came to an end with a loss to Arizona State.

1) LSU beat Arkansas by almost 40 points, but the Tigers defense managed to allow 20 to Arkansas, which has the nation’s 106th ranked offense.

2) Ohio State looked good again in a win over top-ten Penn State, but Justin Fields did fumble three times.

3) Clemson took a bye week ahead of its game vs South Carolina next weekend.

4) Georgia, No. 4, looked like, well, Georgia. The defense played great as it usually does, but the offense continued to show its inability to find the end zone yet again. The thing is, we can’t blame offensive coordinator James Coley for this one. Jake Fromm missed two, maybe three touchdown passes vs the Aggies. Coley called a game that should have yielded 30+ points. They just need to execute better.

5) Alabama looked fine in a big win over Western Carolina.

6) Oregon went down to Arizona State 31-28.

Finebaum, who said that he thinks Georgia can still win it all, left the Bulldogs in his top-four and seems pretty high on the Dawgs and their style of play.

Utah found its way into the top-six thanks to the Oregon loss.

Here is his new top-six.

Paul Finebaum thinks Georgia football can win it all

ESPN’s Paul Finebaum believes Georgia football can still win the CFP.

Paul Finebaum, while on the set of SEC Nation which was posted up in Athens today ahead of Georgia’s final SEC game vs Texas A&M, says he believes that the Bulldogs can win the national championship.

“Call me crazy, but I still think Georgia can still win the national championship,” Finebaum said. “I have not understood so many people wanting to write them off. … What are they missing? This is a really good football team and Kirby Smart is doing a little bit of rope-a-dope.”

Georgia still has two more tough ones ahead of it if it wants to even get into the College Football Playoff, but with the way the Dawgs are playing this month, especially on defense, it’s really not that crazy to think they can make another run at the national title.

The Playoff committee has Georgia at No. 4 for a reason.

 

Where’s Georgia football in Paul Finebaum’s new top-six?

Where did Paul Finebaum rank Georgia football after beating Auburn. What about Alabama?

Following Saturday’s action, the SEC Network’s Paul Finebaum revealed his top new top-six teams in college football.

Last week, Finebaum had Georgia at No. 5 after beating Missouri, while Alabama was sitting one spot ahead at No. 4.

On Sunday, however, taking into consideration Georgia’s road win over Auburn and the loss of Tua Tagovailoa at Alabama, Finebaum moved the Bulldogs to No. 4 and dropped Alabama to No. 6.

Minnesota also dropped out after losing to Iowa and was replaced by Oregon.

 

Paul Finebaum thinks Ohio State would “probably” beat LSU

Even though Paul Finebaum has LSU over Ohio State in his weekly rankings, he believes the Buckeyes would win if the two matched up.

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Not that you take your identity in what others outside the program think, but it’s always interesting to check in on what SEC flag-bearer and SEC Network radio/television host Paul Finebaum things of a team not in the sun and moonshine belt.

To that end, Finebaum appeared on First Take and was asked if he thought Ohio State or LSU would win if the two met at the end of the regular season. It is notable because the SEC talking head had been ranking Ohio State No. 1 in his opinion based rankings each week.

Until this past week that is.

After the Tigers beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Finebaum — like most media and even CFP Committee members have — felt LSU had done enough to take over the top spot.

However, when pressed on the issue, Finebaum’s answer didn’t match his opinion of which team was No. 1 in the country. He said that the Buckeyes would “probably” beat LSU. He cited LSU’s close games in comparison to how Ohio State had been totally dominant in blowing everyone out.

You can listen to the exchange yourself by clicking on the below video shared to the official Twitter feed of First Take.

This is further proof that many believe Ohio State is the best and most complete team in the country, but that LSU has better wins, and is “more deserving.” Now, as a public service announcement, we must remind you that many pro-SEC folks have been banging the drum for years that it’s about the “best” teams, not the most deserving.

Funny how that same notion doesn’t apply when discussing an SEC team though.