Paul Finebaum explains why he'd give the playoff nod to a three-loss SEC team over the Miami Hurricanes after Saturday
The Miami Hurricanes' 2024 season took a massive hit in its finale, with the Canes blowing a 21-0 second quarter lead and falling to the Syracuse Orange 42-38 on Saturday evening. The loss knocked the Hurricanes out of the ACC Championship game, putting 9-3 Clemson – who lost on Saturday to South Carolina – in […]
The Miami Hurricanes' 2024 season took a massive hit in its finale, with the Canes blowing a 21-0 second quarter lead and falling to the Syracuse Orange 42-38 on Saturday evening.
The loss knocked the Hurricanes out of the ACC Championship game, putting 9-3 Clemson – who lost on Saturday to South Carolina – in the title game instead. They are also squarely on the playoff bubble on Saturday, with several pundits projecting the Canes as one of the last teams in the field, including ESPN's Heather Dinich and CBS Sports' Jerry Palm.
However, ESPN/SEC Network talking head Paul Finebaum is out on the Canes being a part of the field. The veteran radio was in favor of Alabama over the Canes for the final at large spot during an ESPN TV spot on Sunday morning (11:40 mark of video).
"I think they're both incredibly flawed teams," Finebaum said of Alabama and Miami. "But when I think of Alabama, it's hard to get that win over Georgia out of my head, and Georgia of course has wins over Texas and Clemson, which may or may not get in.
"So, it's really impossible for me to wrap my arms around Miami. They've had so many opportunities, and they just keep letting them slip away. I'll defer to the committee, but I would definitely have Alabama ranked ahead of Miami in this one."
Miami, in fact, still has a path to the playoffs, but it all comes down to whether or not the Canes get the benefit of the doubt as a two-loss team ahead of a trio of three-loss SEC teams that have better wins, but far worse losses than Miami. Alabama is just over a week removed from a 24-3 loss to an Oklahoma team that finished 6-6. Ole Miss lost at home to 4-8 Kentucky and lost at Florida, where Miami rolled 41-17. South Carolina has been hot lately, winning 6 straight, but they have an ugly 27-3 home loss to Ole Miss on their resume.
Miami also could see their resume bolstered this week, as Syracuse and Duke, both 9-3, could jump into the rankings. Miami defeated Duke 53-31 on November 2. Louisville – who Miami defeated 52-45 – also destroyed Kentucky 41-14 to finish at 8-4. Georgia Tech taking Georgia to 8 overtimes makes Miami's 28-23 loss look a lot more reasonable in retrospect as well.
But it all depends on which way the committee leans on Tuesday night. Finebaum clearly believes the SEC should get the benefit of the doubt. We'll see if the committee agrees. Miami fans hoping to see Cam Ward play at least once more in a Canes uniform are surely hoping they don't.
