Paul Finebaum puts FSU fans on blast for continued reaction to CFP snub
Paul Finebaum is never afraid to feud with fans. During an appearance on “McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning,” Finebaum went on an unfiltered tirade about the Florida State faithful.
“The pettiness of the Florida State fans never ceases to amaze me,” Finebaum said. “Every year, I kind of try to decide who has the most thin-skin, insecure fan base in the country. And right now, at least going into Week 0, I think it’s Florida State. I hope their fans enjoy the trip to Dublin. Maybe have a couple of pops of that Irish brew because they need to chill out.
“This fan base, after that pathetic performance last year, of the crying and the Twitter attacking of anyone on TV or in the media that dared to go against them, they still haven’t recovered. That was my whole point. I was joking, of course, that they’re probably still worn out from all the trail of tears from not making the playoffs, but I just found the whole thing laughable.”
In the 2023 campaign, Florida State became the first Power Five program to post a flawless regular season record and win its conference championship but not receive a berth in the College Football Playoff.
Florida State fans rebelled against the CFP selection committee’s ruling, repeatedly calling the decision unfair. The FSU faithful weren’t afraid to turn their criticism toward reporters either when they sided with the selection committee’s decision.
One of those reporters was Finebaum. Evidently, the SEC Network analyst’s opinion hasn’t changed.
“Their quarterback was out, so they didn’t have the same team,” Finebaum said of FSU’s 2023 squad. “Their schedule wasn’t very good. And besides that, they played in the ACC. The argument I never really heard convincingly was that Georgia deserved to be ahead of them. Forget Alabama. They earned their way in, but Georgia was better than Florida State.
“I’m not talking about the 220 to nothing win in the Orange Bowl. I’m just talking about the fact that they were a much better team. I just hope Florida State fans on the trip to Ireland maybe will chill out by the time they come back.”
Finebaum only gave FSU fans another reason to dislike him last week when he claimed the Seminoles were one of the most overrated teams in the preseason AP Top 25 and will significantly fall in the rankings before the season is over.
On Saturday, Florida State will have a chance to make Finebaum question his prediction when the program faces off against Georgia Tech at noon ET in Dublin, Ireland. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.