Matt Rhule hilariously eviscerates Paul Finebaum over Big Ten take following Ohio State title

They say old habits die hard. Maybe grudges do too. In any case, Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule put ESPN host Paul Finebaum in a body bag over the latter on Tuesday evening.

The two went back and forth this summer when Rhule suggested that the Big Ten deserved four College Football Playoff bids.

Finebaum was blunt in response. And that might be the most charitable description.

“Man, stay in your lane!” Finebaum said on the air. “Job one: Win enough games to get to some stupid bowl game. Don’t worry about the big boys, because you’re not one of them.

“We saw what you did in the NFL, you were a complete disaster in Carolina. You somehow got this job in Nebraska and you’re talking like you belong at the table with Ohio State and Georgia. You don’t! Just try to win maybe six games, quit choking big games on the final play and leave the punditry to the professionals. Thank you.”

On Tuesday afternoon, with Ohio State fresh off winning the national title, Matt Rhule finally responded in kind. Check it out below.

What an amazing 2024 college football season. Congratulations to @OhioStateFB and ⁦@ryandaytime⁩ . Looking forward to another exciting year of football in 2025 with everyone who makes this game so special like my friend ⁦@finebaum⁩ pic.twitter.com/SQEDQ3rW7F

— Matt Rhule (@CoachMattRhule) January 21, 2025

As far Finebaum’s barbs, Matt Rhule did well enough, though he’ll certainly be hoping for better in the future.

Nebraska went 7-6, capping the season with a bowl win over Boston College to finish with a winning record. And Rhule’s preseason sentiment proved mostly correct… the Big Ten sure looked like the best conference in the country in postseason play.

Here was Matt Rhule’s initial statement:

“I think we’ll have a lot of access to the College Football Playoff,” Rhule said at Big Ten Media Days. “I think four teams from this league should get in every year because this is the best league. This is the NFL of college football, in my mind. It stretches from coast to coast, different time zones, different weather.

“That’s not to diminish any other league. The SEC is amazing, these other leagues are great. But the challenge in the Big Ten is going to be really difficult. Travel, weather, and great teams.”

Indeed. Even Finebaum had to admit as much, conceding the Big Ten was the best league in the land in 2024.

“The answer is yes, the Big Ten at the moment owns college football,” Finebaum said on Tuesday on ESPN’s Get Up. “And there’s no way you can say it doesn’t when you go back-to-back.”