Paul Finebaum and Notre Dame rarely end up on the same side of anything, which is why his latest AP Top 25 take turned heads so quickly.
When the first official poll of the season dropped this week and placed the Irish at No. 4, the expectation was pretty clear: Finebaum would probably lean into the usual criticism about Notre Dame’s schedule and the familiar refrain that they “don't play anyone.” Instead, the ESPN personality went in a very different direction on First Take.
“I think Notre Dame is really too low at number four,” Finebaum said. “I know some people will jump up and say, well, that's not such a big deal, but I think Notre Dame and Oregon are really 1A and 1B.”
That’s a notable shift from a voice that has spent much of his career as an SEC-first critic of the Irish. Finebaum didn’t just defend Notre Dame’s spot near the top - he pushed them even higher, saying he wanted to see the Irish at No. 2 in the country.
The AP poll obviously doesn’t hand out a 1A and 1B, but Finebaum’s point was clear enough: in his view, Notre Dame belongs closer to the very top than where it landed. And with playoff positioning always looming over the rankings, that kind of placement can matter. A jump from No. 4 to No. 2 can change the path later in the season if the College Football Playoff picture comes down to byes and bracket positioning.
The take also runs against the broader conversation that keeps circling Notre Dame. Plenty of analysts have once again used the poll as a chance to argue that the Irish need a conference home if they want the kind of respect they’re after. Finebaum, though, sounded more interested in the roster than in the old talking points, suggesting that even if Notre Dame played a tougher schedule, the talent level would still put them among the nation’s best.
For Irish fans, hearing that kind of praise from Finebaum is about as unexpected as it gets. He has not exactly built a reputation as Notre Dame’s ally, and he certainly wasn’t on their side when the College Football Playoff Committee left them out last fall. So for once, the longtime critic is sounding more like a booster than a detractor - a rare case of strange bedfellows in college football’s endless rankings debate.
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