Paul Finebaum didn’t hold back after a wild Week 8 in the SEC, and he didn’t stop at one quarterback.
On Sunday, the ESPN analyst used “The Matt Barrie Show” to torch a string of late-game breakdowns, pointing directly at Texas quarterback Arch Manning and Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss while reacting to No. 11 Tennessee’s 27-24 loss at South Carolina.
“I’ve never seen more teams screw up in the last two minutes in my life,” Finebaum said. “Tennessee gave that game away.
“I’m not a psychiatrist, but the human emotion, there’s so much pressure. We’ve seen Arch Manning and Trinidad Chambliss both make idiotic mistakes, and they’re two of the very best. You get down to the level of a George MacIntyre of Tennessee, who is good and was on the verge of a really big win, and he manages to give it away.”
That Tennessee loss came after a fourth-down decision that backfired. Holding a 24-17 lead with less than four minutes to go, the Volunteers went for it on fourth-and-1 at the South Carolina 38.
George MacIntyre kept the ball rather than handing it to tight end DaSaahn Brame, and Tennessee came up empty. Afterward, coach Josh Heupel called it “just missteps by George on that one.”
South Carolina finished the comeback with 1:17 left when the Gamecocks tied it, then got the game-winning moment from Dylan Stewart, whose strip-sack of MacIntyre with 33 seconds remaining set up Malik Orsan’s 48-yard walk-off field goal.
Finebaum’s criticism of Manning and Chambliss was tied to games that went from comfortable control to full-blown chaos.
Manning’s turnovers helped fuel Ole Miss’ rally from a 24-3 halftime hole before Texas escaped with a 34-27 win Saturday night. The Texas quarterback threw a first-quarter interception, lost a third-quarter fumble that Kam Franklin returned for a touchdown, and was picked off again by the Rebels with the game tied 24-24 early in the fourth quarter. Manning still found the end zone on a 1-yard run to put Texas back in front.
His numbers on the night were rough even beyond the turnovers: minus-0.57 expected points added per dropback, which ranked in the second percentile of single-game performances this season.
Finebaum had already taken aim at Manning earlier this month, calling him “downright stupid” after Texas lost 27-24 to Oklahoma on Oct. 10. Before Saturday’s game, he also said Texas coach Steve Sarkisian, not Manning, would take the biggest hit if the Longhorns lost again.
Chambliss, meanwhile, entered the Texas game with a big endorsement from ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit, who named him the best quarterback in the country before kickoff. But the Ole Miss starter ran into a turnover-heavy night of his own, throwing a career-high three interceptions after never having thrown more than one in a game for the Rebels.
Texas’ Justin Cryer intercepted him on the snap after Manning’s first pick, and Chambliss added another interception on fourth-and-goal from the Texas 2 with 1:41 left in the first half.
Still, Ole Miss kept fighting. Chambliss threw two second-half touchdown passes to Horatio Fields to pull the Rebels even, then helped drive them into Texas territory after an onside kick. The final chance ended with Jelani McDonald intercepting his Hail Mary on the last play.
Texas snapped a two-game losing streak and improved to 5-2. Ole Miss dropped to 5-2.
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