Notre Dame football: Paul Finebaum continues to hate on the Irish
By Brad Weiss
The Notre Dame football team was ranked No. 5 in the first AP Poll, and one college football media member was not happy about it.
This week, the Associated Press released their first top-25 college football AP rankings, and there were some surprises. However, after being ranked at No. 5 in the Coaches Poll, many believed the Notre Dame football team would be right there in the AP Poll, which happened to be the case.
The Notre Dame football team is coming off a regular season that saw them lose only one game, and suffer a tough loss in the Fiesta Bowl. With plenty of star power returning, as guys bypassed the NFL Draft to return to South Bend for one more go-around, you had to figure the Irish would be a preseason favorite to fight for a spot in the College Football Playoff.
However, one member of the college football media took exception to the Irish being ranked in the top-5 to kick off the season, and he did not mince words when expressing his feelings.
Appearing on ESPN’s Get Up on Tuesday, Paul Finebaum did not hold back in regards to Notre Dame being a top-5 team to start the 2022 season.
"“They should not even be in the top 10, Greeny,” Finebaum said. “This is an absolute joke, and it happens every year with the AP poll, which is just as worthless as preseason NFL football. It’s ridiculous."
This is not the first time Finebaum has hated on the Irish he has seemingly made it his mission in recent years. Finebaum is a former author and is all over TV and radio when it comes to college football, so he is seen as an expert on the subject.
This time, he got it way wrong.
Notre Dame football deserves to be in the top 5
Looking at the rest of the college football landscape, the Notre Dame football team has every right to be ranked in the top 5. They have an elite offensive line, a defense that could be one of the best in the country, and Michael Mayer, their tight end, is a potential top-10 pick in next year’s draft.
They also have a solid group of running backs, and the wide receiver group, while thin, has star power as well.
The Irish do control their destiny, and when all is said and done, could be one of the last four teams standing in terms of the College Football Playoff.