The opening round of the College Football Playoff is in the books. Perhaps the highlight of Saturday’s games ended up being the defensive battle between Miami and Texas A&M, which ended in a Hurricanes win thanks to a last-minute interception. With that, Miami was able to strike a blow for the ACC against the SEC.
Paul Finebaum shared some thoughts on the Miami win following the game on The Matt Barrie Show. There, the Hurricanes found success they haven’t had as a program in the Playoff era.
“Yeah, there’s no comparison in terms of the first round games,” Paul Finebaum said. “Where would it have been most difficult to win? I’m really happy for Mario Cristobal. He’s taken some shots and made some terrible decisions. The end of the Georgia Tech game a couple of years ago. So many inexplicable moments like Syracuse last year, but he finally has that program where it should be and, quite frankly, it’s great to see. Everybody needs to learn how to do The U when they’re picking Miami, but in the future, they’ll learn.”
This is the first-ever run for Miami in the College Football Playoff. For a program that expects to compete for national championships, it’s now been more than two decades since Miami won one. So, in many respects, Miami has returned to form under Cristobal.
Paul Finebaum thinks it’s more than a great win for Miami. It’s also a win for the ACC, which has been fighting for its reputation when compared to the SEC.
“Ultimately, that was a monster win for the ACC as well. That league has taken so many shots, most of them self-inflicted. If I can say so down here in Sweet Home Alabama,” Finebaum said. “It was a major shot to the SEC as well. Because the SEC was going to lose somebody in the Alabama–Oklahoma game, but that was the game they had to win. It’s going to hurt all around. You hate to just say, ‘Okay, A&M losing its last two games,’ but what can you do? I mean, that season, it’s just not going to be remembered very well because of the way it ended.”
There are now just three SEC schools left in the College Football Playoff bracket. That’s worth noting for Finebaum. After all, Ole Miss and Georgia will play each other in the quarterfinal round. So, at the most, the SEC will have two schools in the semifinals. That depends on how Alabama handles top-seeded Indiana in the Rose Bowl. After two-straight seasons of the Big Ten winning national championships, it’s setting up a conference besides the SEC to win it all again.
How the SEC shakes out moving forward, this Playoff remains to be seen. It’s clear, however, that Finebaum took note of Texas A&M falling the way they did.