Paul Finebaum believes Michigan’s national championship legitimacy can be debated ‘until the end of time’

The Michigan Wolverines had a magical season in 2023, going unbeaten and winning a national championship. However, it was marred by a sign-stealing scandal and suspension of then-head coach Jim Harbaugh, which has since hung over how that season is debated nationally.

ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum recently included himself in those questioning that championship. While on First Take, Finebaum debated whether the SEC or Big Ten might put more teams in the College Football Playoff next season. There, looking to push back on the recent strength of the Big Ten, Finebaum joked that it’s possible to question the legitimacy of Michigan’s national championship.

“I am not silly enough or stupid enough to come up here and act like the last two years didn’t happen,” Paul Finebaum said. “Although, we could debate Michigan from now until the end of time about the legitimacy of that national championship.”

The sign-stealing scandal at Michigan is well-covered ground by this point. A staffer named Connor Stalions allegedly sent staffers to opponents’ games in an attempt to steal signs outside of what is allowed within the rules. That quickly would lead to his resignation and a suspension for Jim Harbaugh. Still, Michigan kept winning and eventually added a national championship.

That was a part of two straight seasons where the Big Ten won the national championship. Ohio State, of course, won it most recently in 2024. Still, Finebaum believes the depth of the SEC will help the conference get back to the college football mountaintop sooner rather than later.

“Ohio State won it. They were the best team Day 1 and the best team all throughout the season, except for two Saturdays when Ryan Day got in the way of them winning. But my point here is, the SEC, you could go here down — I’m not trying to sound like I’m the commissioner. I’m not, but you can get to the 12th or 13th SEC team — Shane Beamer reminded me a couple of minutes ago. They were picked to finish 14th last year and they had a three-touchdown lead against LSU and they let that get away. They were a dominating team at the end of the year.”

In the first season of the expanded Playoff, the Big Ten got four teams into the field while the SEC only got three teams into it. The conference would, of course, love to keep that up and Michigan would love to get back to that stage. Still, they’ll need to find a way to bounce back from a difficult season to do that.

That’s going to come for a Michigan program where the sign-stealing investigation is still very real. Last August, Michigan received a Notice of Allegations. Then, in January, it was reported that the school plans on pushing back and fighting those allegations. So, they’ll likely remain in the news in the future.