Paul Finebaum reveals new Top 4 after latest weekend in college football

Paul Finebaum’s Top 4 is out. The SEC Network host doesn’t have a lot of changes from his previous lists this week.

On Sunday morning’s episode of SportsCenter on ESPN, Finebaum revealed that he has Ohio State, Clemson, Notre Dame and Alabama included in the Top 4, the same order as the College Football Playoff selection committee currently has the four teams ranked.

Finebaum does have Florida in the No. 5 spot, meaning there’s a good chance the SEC gets two teams into the College Football Playoff field for the 2020 season. But there’s still a lot of football to be played.

Ohio State did not play this weekend, having Saturday’s game against Illinois canceled due to a COVID-19 outbreak within the Buckeyes program. The other four teams mentioned were all in action.

Alabama defeated Auburn, Clemson took down Pitt, Notre Dame beat North Carolina and Florida cruised past Kentucky. Here’s what Finebaum had to say about his rankings:

• No. 4 Ohio State: “We did not see them, but they’re still very highly regarded in my mind. It’s still an open question what happens from here, but the Buckeyes — when I did see them last — were beating Indiana, which is a pretty good team.
• No. 3 Clemson: “Clemson is back, at least in the conversation piece, because we haven’t seen a lot of them lately. Trevor Lawrence played good, but can he get back in the Heisman race remains to be seen. He’ll have an opportunity against the
• No. 2 Notre Dame: “I debated whether to move Notre Dame up, but I thought they have more to accomplish, maybe like beating Clemson one more time. They have a shot at doing that in three weeks.”
• No. 1 Alabama: “It was just another pedestrian beat-down for Alabama, a 29-point win over their fiercest rival in the Iron Bowl. Mac Jones letting his presence be known for the Heisman, and Alabama winning without Nick Saban.”
• Team to file away at No. 5: Florida: “I went with Florida over Texas A&M. Texas A&M can get some help and get into the Playoff, but Florida can do it on their own. They still have to finish the season with LSU, which shouldn’t be difficult or Tennessee, but if they beat Alabama in the SEC title game, they will be in the Playoff.”

The Buckeyes are the team to watch of this list. With one more cancellation — which is likely because of the COVID-19 situation — Ohio State would not be eligible for the B1G Championship Game. Could that hurt the College Football Playoff chances for Ryan Day’s team?

It would be awfully difficult to put a team in the field with only 5 or 6 wins on the season.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB