Paul Finebaum calls out 'main issue' in initial CFP rankings

ESPN personality Paul Finebaum has become a college football staple, largely because of his knowledge of the SEC. And in the immediate aftermath of last night's initial College Football Playoff ranking release, Finebaum had a very specific SEC-related beef that he discussed on ESPN's Get Up.

Despite Finebaum's potential SEC bias, he had no problems with Ohio State grabbing the top spot in the CFP rankings. It's what happened immediately following that pick that drew Finebaum's attention and ire.

Finebaum's take

I do have one [complaint] if I could share that. And that's Texas A&M. In many ways, I think they probably have the best resume in the country. The metrics favor them. I get Ohio State-- the eye test has been superb for them. And I also understand Indiana has looked good in every game and they have that Oregon win. But to me, what A&M has had to do is a lot more accomplished than Indiana. A&M has gone to Notre Dame and beaten a really good team there. They've gone on the road and beaten other teams. To me, they should be No. 2. Now, ok, sue me if you're Indiana.
Paul Finebaum

The case for A&M

To Finebaum's points, even ESPN's FPI ratings, which place A&M at ninth in the country, acknowledge the fundamental truth. A&M is rated with the No. 15 strength of schedule and No. 19 remaining strength of schedule. Indiana has the No. 39 strength of schedule and No. 26 remaining strength of schedule. Ohio State is rated with the No. 33 stregth of schedule and No. 43 remaining strength of schedule.

A&M and Indiana's performances

That said, A&M has actually only won three total road games-- the Notre Dame game Finebaum referenced and then Arkansas and LSU. The Aggies do still have to face No. 19 Missouri and No. 13 Texas on the road. But Notre Dame is the only currently ranked team on A&M's slate of games already played.

Indiana's only game on the entire slate against a currently ranked team is their 30-20 win over now- No. 6 Oregon. 6-2 Iowa is probably the second most imposing game on the Indiana schedule and the Hoosiers squeaked by in that one, 20-15, on the road.

But with a challenging slate left for A&M and likely league title games for both teams, the Indiana/Texas A&M dispute may well be settled on the field ahead of the College Football Playoff.

Texas A&M and QB Marcel Reed might be deserving of the No. 2 CFP seed according to ESPN's Paul Finebaum. | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images