Want to hear the least surprising news of the day? Paul Finebaum believes the College Football Playoff committee did the right thing by putting Alabama in the College Football Playoff over Ohio State.

Stunning, right?

Monday, Finebaum made an appearance on ESPN’s First Take to provide his thoughts on the College Football Playoff and the committee’s decision to leave the Buckeyes out of the mix. He said that, based on the performance in the B1G Championship Game, it was the right call.

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“The game that bugged me the most was the B1G Championship Game and had Wisconsin won, they would’ve gotten the fourth seed,” he said. “I cover college football primarily in the southern part of the country, but Wisconsin would be lucky to finish fourth in the Southeastern Conference. Ohio State was leaking gas in the fourth quarter. The fact Ohio State couldn’t put them away, I think, did them in.

“Had they won 41-10, this committee would’ve gone against everything they were doing and put them in. The point is, the last two years, the B1G champion has lost 69-0 (in the semifinals). The committee was scared to death, those former head coaches on the committee, ‘if we put Ohio State in there and they play Clemson…last year it was 31-0, this year it might’ve been 38-0. Let’s put Nick Saban in there and roll the dice.'”

Clearly, Finebaum either team would survive the SEC and that, ultimately, the committee made the right decision in putting Alabama ahead of Ohio State.

“If Ohio State wants the assurance of getting into the College Football Playoff, don’t screw it up,” Finebaum said.

The Buckeyes instead earned a bid to the Cotton Bowl and will play USC. Wisconsin will play Miami in the Orange Bowl.