Paul Finebaum gives take on Alabama-Cincinnati semi-final matchup

The official College Football Playoff bracket was set on Sunday, with the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide facing off against the No. 4 ranked Cincinnati Bearcats. It will mark the first team ever a non-Power Five program or Notre Dame will feature in the four-team playoff.

ESPN’s Paul Finebaum talked about the achievement, saying it’s one of the bigger moments in the history of the sport. He thinks Cincinnati had to overcome a few obstacles thanks to their conference friends UCF.

“I think Cincinnati getting in today is one of the most historical moments and significant moments in the modern history of college football,” Finebaum said. “Because the big guys don’t want them around. We saw this conversation four years ago with UCF and I can assure you there were a lot of turned-up noses in Atlanta after hearing UCF claim the national championship. It didn’t really help the cause and I think there was some backlash.”

Finebaum went on to preview the game, saying there is a lot more pressure on Alabama than many think. Even after the win against Georgia in the SEC Championship, the ESPN analyst thinks the Bearcats have a fighting chance against Nick Saban.

“This is a huge game,” Finebaum said. “Nick Saban is probably not thrilled about being the big gun that has to take on the little kid, the cinderella story that everyone is rooting for because if you lose to Michigan, it’s not great in Nick Saban’s mind. You lose to Cincinnati and suddenly it’s hard to ever wash that one away. I think Alabama is a fragile team. That sounds crazy considering they’re No. 1 in the country and just knocked off the biggest and baddest kid on the street and left them bloody and really screaming and crying. But that’s the reality of the situation here.

“I think Cincinnati has everything going in its favor — they know they let one get away last year against Georgia. Not that that game would have elevated the program to someplace that it’s not but it was a significant moment. This is 100x more important.”

Alabama and Cincinnati will head to Arlington, to play in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium. Playing on New Year’s Eve, it will be the early kickoff of the two playoff games, with No. 3 Georgia and No. 3 Georgia in the Orange Bowl following. It will be a great opportunity for the Bearcats to prove their haters wrong by advancing to the national championship.