SALT LAKE CITY — If Paul Finebaum’s to-do list Wednesday included “Offend Utah” and “Trend nationwide on Twitter,” well, the ESPN commentator got his day off to a splendid start.
A bombastic, disparaging and condescending comment Finebaum made about the University of Utah football team on ESPN’s “Get Up” isn’t making him any friends with fans of the Utes — or people who think college teams outside of the SEC and a few select other traditional powerhouses deserve a chance to play for a national championship.
Finebaum was asked to state his opinion on who will claim the fourth and final spot in the College Football Playoff semifinals if No. 2 LSU beats No. 4 Georgia in the SEC championship, No. 6 Oklahoma defeats No. 7 Baylor in the Big 12 championship and No. 5 Utah downs No. 13 Oregon in the Pac-12 championship this weekend.
Finebaum didn’t hesitate to anoint the Sooners as the fourth program in the CFP.
“Let’s be honest,” Finebaum said, “the country does not want to see Utah in the College Football Playoff. I’m sorry. It’s Utah!”
(Narrator: He wasn’t really sorry.)
When it was suggested that Oklahoma might not fare any better than the Utes, Finebaum retorted, “They might not be any better, but they’re going to look a lot better.”
Finebaum, a regular contributor to the SEC Network, didn’t mention the fact that Utah has beaten eight straight Pac-12 opponents by an average of 29 points, while the Sooners recently beat Iowa State (42-41), Baylor (34-31) and TCU (28-24) by a combined eight points before last week’s more impressive 34-16 victory over 21st-ranked Oklahoma State.
Not surprisingly, Finebaum’s comment stirred up some social media dust, including from the Utes.
From the team’s official Twitter account:
Backup quarterback Jason Shelley:
Former Ute guard Isaac Asiata:
Former Ute linebacker Gionni Paul:
But it hasn’t just been red-and-white-clad folks who’ve come after Finebaum for his remarks:
BYU fans even came to Utah’s defense (gasp!):
By the way, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney recently was on the receiving end of a Finebaum insult. The New York Times bestselling author called Swinney “the most annoying winner in all of sports.”
His response might be a wise one for the Utes to consider adopting.
“You don’t worry about criticism from people you wouldn’t seek advice from.”