Paul Finebaum Dismisses Miami As National Championship Contender

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No. 9 Miami continues to drop in the minds of national media pundits as a true title contender. Some believe that they will win the ACC but winning a National Championship should now be out of the question.
One of the lead voices of college football is ESPN's Paul Finebaum. SEC bias aside, he has covered the sport for a lengthy time and knows that the Hurricanes are good but doesn't believe that they have what it takes to get to that next level.
“They are (fine),”Finebaum said on The Matt Barrie Show. “What they’re not is, in my mind, a serious contender anymore. I mean, they looked really good. Cam Ward, the whole thing, but this is who they are. Somewhere, someone was going to get them, it’s no big deal, because they’re still probably going to get to the playoffs.
“Where it hurts the most, I think, is for the ACC. They probably lost a birth yesterday. They’ll get the champion in but I don’t think they’re getting anybody else.”
If you are paying attention to ESPN, they are starting to push a narrative about SEC teams and how while they might have a three-loss team in the conference, they should still have a great chance to make it into the College Football Playoff.
Not only does this put more pressure on the Hurricanes to win out and secure the first-round bye, but if they don't, they could be on the outside looking in thanks to the narratives that are starting to be pushed.
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Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University earning a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Communications with a concentration in Print and Digital Journalism. During his time in Starkville, he spent a year as an intern working for Mississippi State On SI primarily covering basketball, football, baseball, and soccer while writing, recording, and creating multimedia stories during his tenor. Since graduating, he has assumed the role of lead staff writer for Miami Hurricanes On SI covering football, basketball, baseball, and all things Hurricanes related.
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