Paul Finebaum Makes Fool of Himself Regarding Notre Dame Football

Quick, how do you know when Notre Dame football is an actual threat to win a national championship?

The cries about the Fighting Irish from a very specific part of the country become deafeningly loud.

That's exactly what's happening right now, and it should honestly be music to every Notre Dame fan's ears.

Paul Finebaum 'Calls Out' Notre Dame Football

Longtime SEC apologist Paul Finebaum recently took a break from discussing rocket science with his regular callers and instead took the opportunity to share his thoughts on Notre Dame football.

His thoughts were pretty much what you would think they'd be for a guy that has forever carried the water of the SEC and has done the same for ESPN for years now, too.

Finebaum began talking about Notre Dame not accepting an invitation to the Pop-Tarts Bowl after missing out on the College Football Playoff, and used it as an opportunity to pile on the Fighting Irish.

Paul Finebaum in 201 — Jan 6, 2018; Atlanta, GA, USA; ESPN broadcaster Paul Finebaum during media day at Philips Arena. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

"They're petulant," Finebaum said. "They are small. They want everything to go their way. They're pretty much forgotten about. That's one thing people haven't mentioned, with the rise of the Big Ten now being so dominant, Notre Dame is a forgotten child in that part of the country... college football is slowly leaving Notre Dame behind."

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Takeaway

Have you ever heard the saying "They don't boo nobodys"?

Although not booing, it might as well apply here regarding Finebaum.

Notre Dame played in the national championship game just two seasons ago and had it not been robbed of a College Football Playoff spot by an undeserving Alabama team last season, it may have made another deep run.

His comments would have made sense if it was the end of the 2004 season and Tyrone Willingham had just been fired, but over 20 years later, they're simply out of touch.

Finebaum is focused on the 18-team megaleague that is the Big Ten because he knows it has the one single thing Notre Dame football can't claim in recent memory: a national championship.

Never mind the fact that Notre Dame won three College Football Playoff games following the 2024 regular season and played for a national championship.

For reference, that's as many College Football Playoff games the entire SEC has won over the last two seasons, when a game didn't feature two SEC teams:

2024 season: Texas over Clemson and Texas over Arizona State
2025 season: Ole Miss over Tulane

Notre Dame's 2024 Postseason as a reminder: Wins over Indiana, Georgia, and Penn State before falling to Ohio State in the national championship game.

Notre Dame will enter the 2026 college football season on the shortest of lists as a national championship contender.

The Fighting Irish along with Ohio State, Texas, Oregon, and perhaps a couple of others are atop that group, yet Finebaum sees the program as falling behind.

Or does he see Notre Dame as a threat to further the gap between the truly elite of college football and the SEC as the tides of the sport continue to move away from the southeastern United States?