Paul Finebaum ‘not excited’ by Penn State, picking Notre Dame in College Football Playoff

The College Football Playoff is down to only four teams with one of its semifinal matchups set to be played at the Orange Bowl between Penn State and Notre Dame. However, that’s a game that at least Paul Finebaum is picking Notre Dame to win.

While making an appearance on The Matt Barrie Show to preview the College Football Playoff semifinals, Paul Finebaum shared some thoughts on the Notre Dame Penn State game, notably picking the Irish because he hasn’t yet found a reason to be excited by Penn State.

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“Today, I would take Notre Dame and Ohio State,” Paul Finebaum said. “Because they’ve been the most impressive. I just can’t get excited about Penn State beating SMU at home and Boise State.”

Neither Notre Dame nor Penn State had a bye in the Playoff. Instead, both hosted in the first round before hitting a neutral site for the quarterfinals. In Notre Dame’s case, the Irish played Indiana and then Georgia. Penn State, meanwhile, had SMU and Boise State. That path for Penn State was criticized as an easy first two games of the Playoff.

“I was guilty too of looking past Arizona State. I knew they were a hot team,” Finebaum said. “But Arizona State and Boise State are not the same teams. To me, the idea that Penn State could make it to the semifinals of this thing really not having played anyone yet is the main reason why I like Notre Dame. I’m still not a believer in Indiana but they looked very good in that victory and they looked even better against what I believe is a quality team in Georgia.”

In the other semifinal between Ohio State and Texas, Finebaum shared that he believes that the Buckeyes are now well positioned to thrive.

“On the other side, to be repetitive from the front of the conversation, Ohio State doesn’t have to play as well. They just have to play consistently, and use the talent that they have,” Finebaum said. “I’m not really sure why it’s taken that long for Ryan Day to figure out what he has, but good for him that he did.”

The Orange Bowl between Notre Dame and Penn State is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EST on Thursday, January 9th. Then, the Cotton Bowl between Texas and Oklahoma is set for Friday, January 10th at 7:30 p.m.