When the first round of the College Football Playoff concluded on Saturday night, I grabbed my car keys and drove to the local drug store. I was hunting for the largest box of cotton swabs available for purchase, hoping it would help clean out the gunk spewed by ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit, Sean McDonough and Paul Finebaum and lodged inside my ears.
Unless you live in one of those Kool-Aid-sipping SEC states, I’m guessing you were pretty tired of last weekend’s college football coverage as well. What should have been a fun start to a 12-team format turned into a 36-hour whine festival for the self-proclaimed “worldwide leader in sports.”
It all began on Friday night when No. 10 Indiana traveled to South Bend for a meeting with No. 7 Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish were dominant for essentially the entire 60 minutes, building a 27-3 lead before the Hoosiers closed the gap in the final two minutes.
McDonough, who was the play-by-play man for Friday’s game, was the first to rail against the College Football Playoff selection committee for putting Indiana in the field.
“I know they’re 11-1, but what is it about (Indiana’s) resumé that said they were clearly more deserving than SMU or Alabama?” McDonough said. “I don’t understand why there’s this presumption that the Big Ten is so much better than the ACC or Big 12,” McDonough said. “I’m not sure what that’s based on.”
Gee, I don’t know, Sean, could it have been the fact that Indiana won 11 games this season? Maybe that the Hoosiers’ only loss this season came to No. 8 Ohio State in Columbus?
It’s fair to criticize Indiana for lacking a signature win in 2024 — the Hoosiers didn’t really have one. But they also didn’t lose a game to a 6-6 Vanderbilt team, or get steamrolled by a 6-6 Oklahoma squad … you know, like Alabama.
McDonough’s comments from Friday night were enough to irritate any non-SEC homer, but those remarks were only the beginning.
In the words of the late Billy Mays, “But wait, there’s more!”
Saturday night, Herbstreit got his crack at the College Football Playoff selection committee following No. 8 Ohio State’s utter beatdown of No. 9 Tennessee in Columbus. But good ol’ Herbie wasn’t critical of the Volunteers’ performance in a 42-17 thumping at the hands of the Buckeyes.
Instead, Herbstreit decided to take some not-so-subtle jabs at Indiana.
“I hope next year the committee won’t get caught up in what a lot of people who are fringe fans get caught up in, which is wins,” Herbstreit said. “‘They had 11 wins, they must be good.’ Who did they beat, I think is much more important than how many wins you have. That’s an old-school way of approaching it. Indiana having 11 wins and beating nobody, that doesn’t mean they’re one of the 12 best teams.”
Yes, you read that correctly, Herbstreit doesn’t want the selection committee to get caught up in … wins. For those new to college football, wins and losses are traditionally how the best teams are determined.
Herbstreit has long been one of the most respected voices in college football. For decades, he’s been an incredibly well-liked analyst, one that has provided fair and honest assessment of the sport.
It sure seemed like Herbstreit wandered down the corporate path, backing ESPN’s best interest, which is the SEC. How do I know this? He failed to mention a single word about Tennessee’s 25-point loss to Ohio State — and it wasn’t even that close.
Remember, Indiana lost a 38-15 game to Ohio State in late November. The Hoosiers had a 7-0 lead and trailed by just seven points at halftime. Tennessee was dead before the first quarter ended in Saturday’s game against the Buckeyes.
Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised by Herbstreit’s comments. After all, he was the one backing the College Football Playoff selection committee’s decision to omit an undefeated Florida State team from the four-team field last year.
Our brains couldn’t handle much more stupidity on Saturday night. College football fans went to bed frustrated and annoyed, all because ESPN’s top broadcasters were spouting company lines.
Then Finebaum, a long-time SEC shill, decided to get involved. Along with blasting Indiana, he also decided to throw dirt on No. 11 SMU following a 38-10 loss to No. 6 Penn State.
“It would have been a lot better if we had some real teams playing in the playoffs, as opposed to a couple of frauds,” Finebaum said. “That’s the disappointing part. I know it sounds a little bit like crying over spilled milk, but the committee did a lousy job.
“I know the worst loss was Tennessee, but Tennessee did something to get into the playoffs. Indiana did nothing. SMU did nothing. That’s really my biggest beef.”
Reminder: McDonough, Hersbtreit and Finebaum are all national college football broadcasters for ESPN. They’re not employees of the SEC. That’s what makes all of this more infuriating.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and those three individuals certainly spewed theirs throughout the weekend. But none even attempted to hide their bias towards the SEC.
To put it mildly, ESPN’s broadcasts of the first round of the College Football Playoff were an embarrassment to the company. McDonough, Herbstreit and Finebaum lost a lot of credibility on Friday and Saturday night.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to drive back to the drug store for an even larger box of cotton swabs.
JACK’S TAKE: Some contend Indiana’s poor performance indicates it shouldn’t have been in the College Football Playoff. But the Hoosiers earned their spot, because games should matter more than hypotheticals. CLICK HERE
TODD’S TAKE: Regret is a common refrain after a loss, but no one expected Indiana to lament lack of aggression. CLICK HERE
TOM BREW COLUMN: Indiana had no answers for Notre Dame in the College Football Playoffs on Friday night, losing 27-17 in a game that wasn’t nearly that close. Maybe the Hoosiers can’t hang with the big boys, but they were pretty good in 2024 and brought life back to a very sick program. CLICK HERE
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