Fans Accuse Paul Finebaum Of 'Hating' College Football After Indiana Comments

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It's safe to say that Paul Finebaum truly does not like the fact that Indiana is playing for its first-ever college football national title. He dislikes them so much that he has people wondering if he even likes the sport of college football.

Appearing on The Matt Barrie Show, Finebaum completely dismissed Indiana's potential national title win, dismissing it as something that wouldn't be talked about for more than a day if it happens. He likened it to BYU's national title win in the 1980s which has largely been forgotten by non-Cougars fans over the last four decades. He believes that their title win would be overshadowed by the ongoing NFL playoffs.

“I’m searching to go back in time. BYU won it in, I believe, ‘84 — but remember, it wasn’t a national championship game. They won it in, I think, the Holiday Bowl, four or five days before the other bowl games happened. Yeah, so nobody really said, ‘Oh, wow. BYU just won the national championship.’ It was — the Jan. 1 games happened. On January 2, the polls came out, and everybody yawned. Since then, there’s been unusual winners, but nothing quite like this,” Finebaum said.

“It will be a cute story, and it will get some attention on Tuesday morning, Matt, but it really won’t get that much. It’s all about what’s next in the NFC, AFC Championship games.”

"Does he hate college football?"

Fans have grown tired of Finebaum dismissing Indiana's unprecedented feats and are openly declaring that he must just hate the sport he covers for a living.

"these people legitimately hate the sport they cover," one user wrote on X.

"Indiana’s success has made it really easy to tell who loves college football and who doesn’t. Finebaum clearly doesn’t," another wrote.

"Do NFL analysts/personalities get on national platforms during the playoffs and continually appear to not enjoy the sport they cover?" wrote a third.

"Cute story? If they were in the SEC Paul would be asking for a Disney movie on it."

"The greatest worst-to-first saga in the history of college football – or any other sport – reduced to 'a cute story.' Right."

Finebaum has never shied away from his disdain for teams that beat his beloved SEC teams. Indiana's win over Alabama in the Rose Bowl a few weeks ago must have broken his brain.

Whether Indiana wins a national title or not, they will be looked at as one of the greatest worst-to-first stories in the history of American sports.

This story was originally published by The Spun on Jan 18, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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