Paul Finebaum slams Notre Dame for accepting new CFP 5+7 format: 'Cry me a river'

On Tuesday the College Football Playoff approved the move to a 5-7 format for the 12-team field starting next season, which guarantees playoff spots for the five highest-ranked conference champions plus the next seven highest-ranked teams as determined by the CFP Selection Committee.

The new model raises a handful of questions, one of which is where that leaves Notre Dame, one of college football’s most relevant programs that is independent and without a conference.

SEC Network host Paul Finebaum joined ESPN’s ‘First Take’ on Wednesday morning and spoke about the future of Notre Dame football as it relates to the new College Football Playoff model. Providing some harsh words for a program he feels clearly very little sympathy for regarding their CFP future.

“The big controversy is with Notre Dame. You heard Heather [Dinich] a minute ago: What if Notre Dame is No. 1? Well first of off, that’s not going to happen. Marcus Freeman is a good coach, but they’re not going to be No. 1. But if they were, it’s their own fault! Notre Dame remains an independent, for what reason I don’t know,” Finebaum said.

Notre Dame has been independent for over 135 years in college football, standing out as a unique entity in the sport rich in tradition. But with the conference realignment, changes to the College Football Playoff, and several other advancements across the sport, their independence may be working against them in the future.

“Remember when they lived off the ACC a couple of years ago [2020]? Finebaum asked. “During COVID they joined the ACC for one season. And by the way they got to the Playoffs as a result. But instead of joining the ACC, of which they’re a member in every sport but hockey and football, they said ‘we’re too good you guys, we’re going to go at it alone,’ even though basketball and baseball and all those programs play [in the ACC].”

Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick has been a longtime advocate for the 12-team College Football Playoff, and was a part of the unanimous vote for the 5+7 format’s approval by the CFP’s management committee. Which comprises of himself and 10 other FBS commissioners.

“Whatever happens to Notre Dame is their own fault,” Finebaum said. “This has to be unanimous so you get all these people in a room and they have to do some horse-trading. It’s not perfect, but it’s much better than it was. And as far as Notre Dame, cry me a river.”

Notre Dame made two appearances in the four-team CFP model, losing handily in each of their two College Football Playoff Semifinal matchups.

They’ve notched double-digit win seasons in six of the last seven years, but their prominence in the CFP picture historically and the national conversation overall has rubbed both ‘First Take’ host Stephen A. Smith and Finebaum the wrong way.

“Think about this Stephen A., the Dallas Cowboys have won a championship since Notre Dame, and there’s a correlation between those two because I’m watching TV this morning right before you and they’re obsessing about the Cowboys,” Finebaum said. “Because it is an obsession and it’s a media obsession, because you can walk down the streets of New York, you can walk down the streets of LA, Chicago, and really Notre Dame is not a big deal anymore because they have fallen so far. But there’s still people in the media, and I blame NBC.”

NBC has aired Notre Dame’s home football games since 1991 and will continue doing so through 2029. But as the college football landscape and postseason picture continue to evolve, it will surely be interesting to see what the future of one of the most storied college football programs looks like as one of the few independent teams in college football.

“You’re right Stephen A., I mean I don’t plan my Saturdays around watching Notre Dame and Purdue, or Notre Dame and Air Force. I think about Georgia, I think about Alabama, I think about Southern Cal, Ohio State. But it’s the media’s fault, walk down the hallway wherever you are and I think that’s where the answer is,” Finebaum concluded.