If it was up to Paul Finebaum, the College Football Playoffs would never include automatic bids. Amid rumors of another potential CFP expansion, Finebaum rejected the idea of the postseason tournament giving the SEC and Big 10 a set number of guaranteed spots.
While Finebaum agreed that the two conferences are already historically the two most dominant, he is not in favor of giving any league automatic spots before the season begins.
“There is something inherently wrong about stacking the deck before the season,” Finebaum said on ESPN’s ‘Get Up.’ “Ultimately, you could have a year — probably more in the Big 10 than the SEC — where you have two or three elite teams. Then your automatic third or fourth [bid] is an 8-4 team that probably doesn’t belong in there. So I think it’s a bad move right now.”
Using the 2024 season as an example, Finebaum scoffed at the idea of Alabama potentially sneaking into the playoffs with an 9-3 regular season record. The Crimson Tide wound up facing Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl, where they came out flat and suffered a 19-13 loss despite closing as the heavy betting favorite.
The College Football Playoffs debuted its new 12-team format in 2024 after including just four for the first 10 seasons. Despite criticisms of the recent modification, rumors of another potential expansion surfaced shortly after Ohio State claimed the 2024 national title.
Paul Finebaum turns down idea of potential CFP expansion
Finebaum has also been on the record previously rejecting the idea of another College Football Playoff expansion. The outspoken analyst said the 12-team format already consists of “too many” teams and does not want to see the postseason dragged out any further.
The 12-team CFP bracket showed several potential flaws in 2024. The primary argument was the potential disadvantage it gave the top teams in the tournament, as each of the top four seeds lost their opening games following a first-round bye. Many also believe the additional eight teams forced the student athletes to play too many games.
Either way, Finebaum is not in favor of the direction college football is currently taking. He called the modern state of the sport “dangerous,” citing potential dissinterest from fans due to the playoff format, NIL regulations and transfer portal.
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