Paul Finebaum caused a stir and angered Florida State fans earlier this month when he called the Seminoles overrated and predicted a disappointing season for Mike Norvell’s team.
Now that FSU has started 0-1, Finebaum is stepping up his game. The SEC Network host and ESPN commentator joined SportsCenter on Sunday to share his thoughts on the Noles’ 24-21 loss to Georgia Tech.
“I always expected a lawyer to come to the halfway line and smack Ireland or Guinness with a lawsuit: ‘You served too many beers last night…'” Finebaum said. “Because Florida State always looks for someone else to blame when things don’t go their way, and we saw that last year when they blamed the media. Then they started suing their own league, and that was really the worst possible start for a team that so many people expected to make the playoffs.
“I realize this isn’t over yet, but after their performance yesterday, especially on offense, this team better call Judge Judy or somebody because I don’t think they’re going to make it. I mean, getting steamrolled by a mediocre ACC team – that was music to the ears of a lot of Florida State haters.”
Finebaum was a doubter of Florida State before the upset in Dublin. He drew the ire of FSU fans when he picked the Seminoles before the season as the most likely AP top-10 team to finish the year unranked. He also shared his opinion that Florida State didn’t belong in the top 10 to begin with, citing the lost talent from the 2023 squad that sent 10 players to the NFL Draft.
As Finebaum explained, Florida State is not being written off as a potential College Football Playoff team as the field has now grown to 12 teams and the focus is on conference championships.
However, FSU’s stock is definitely down. Earlier this month, Florida State was on the 9-3/8-4 bubble according to ESPN’s Football Power Index projections. With the loss, FPI has moved the Noles to the 8-4/7-5 bubble (7.5-4.7 projection).
Betting markets have also reacted. DraftKings Sportsbook had FSU’s overall win odds at 9.5 before the game against Georgia Tech. After losing a game as a double-digit favorite, the Noles now have an overall win odds of 8.5 this season at DraftKings.
Whether this is the start of the difficult season that Finebaum saw coming, or an early season mistake that will be forgiven in December, we will find out in the next few weeks.
