Paul Finebaum Changes His Mind on Notre Dame and Marcus Freeman

Finebaum went as far as admitting he was wrong about Notre Dame's independence

Paul Finebaum of SEC Nation on set before the Alabama, LSU game in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on Nov. 9, 2019 / Kirsten Fiscus/Advertiser via Imagn Content Services, LLC

For whatever reason sports analysts seem to have an extremely tough time saying three certain words in order.

"I was wrong" is said sometimes, but nowhere near as often as it could be.

One college football talking head that finally came around to admitting as much was ESPN's Paul Finebaum, who did so last week while discussing Notre Dame on The Paul Finebaum Show.

Finebaum has been very vocal for years about Notre Dame not being this or that and the need for it to join a conference. Well, this week the longtime SEC mouthpiece finally ate his words and admitted that 2024 proved him wrong regarding Notre Dame football.

"Notre Dame this year proved us all wrong," Finebaum said. "They proved they can survive without a conference. I didn't think they could. I'll give Marcus Freeman and his crew a lot of credit for the way they mastered this college football season." 

Notre Dame of course made it all the way to the National Championship game last season before eventually falling to Ohio State.

With the College Football Playoff only growing in the years to come, Notre Dame's path to it only gets easier, even with guaranteed spots going to the Big Ten, SEC, ACC, and Big 12.

All Notre Dame has to do to make the playoff once it expands again is essentially finish in the nation's top 14. Perhaps Finebaum is changing his tone not just because of what Notre Dame did last season, but because of what its set up to do in coming years under Marcus Freeman.

Notre Dame's 2025 Football Schedule

Jan 20, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the CFP National Championship college football game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Aug. 31: at Miami (FL)
Sept. 13: vs. Texas A&M
Sept. 20: vs. Purdue
Sept. 27: at Arkansas
Oct. 4: vs. Boise State
Oct. 11: vs. North Carolina State
Oct. 18: vs. USC
Nov. 1: at Boston College
Nov. 8: vs. Navy
Nov. 15: at Pittsburgh
Nov. 22: vs. Syracuse
Nov. 29: at Stanford

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