Paul Finebaum Names SEC Team That Was 'Miserable' This Season

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jaron Spor | Last updated Jan 8, 2025 1:30 PM ET

The 2024 college football season is just over a week away from its conclusion. The semifinals of the College Football Playoff will kick off on Thursday, and the national championship will be held on January 20.

Despite being well into the playoffs, there is still debate over which teams should have qualified and which should not have. On "The Paul Finebaum Show," SEC Network analyst Paul Finebaum discussed the three SEC teams that narrowly missed the playoff cut: the No. 11 Alabama Crimson Tide (9-4), the No. 14 Ole Miss Rebels (10-3) and the No. 15 South Carolina Gamecocks (9-4).

Finebaum stated that South Carolina has the strongest case for complaint due to the quality of its losses. The Gamecocks lost all three of their games to teams that have four or fewer losses. He also pointed out that Alabama has two losses to teams with six or more losses. However, he noted that Ole Miss had the worst loss among the teams discussed.

"The biggest outlier of the entire season was Kentucky," Finebaum said. "Which was miserable. one of the worst teams in the SEC. The fact that Kentucky ended up beating Ole Miss on the road, that can not be explained."

The Kentucky Wildcats finished the season 4-8, marking their worst performance since 2013, head coach Mark Stoops' first year. The team wrapped up the season by losing six of their last seven games and has not defeated an FBS opponent since their win against Ole Miss on Sept. 28, 2024, with a score of 20-17.

ESPN's Football Power Index ranks them as the second-worst team in the SEC, just ahead of the Mississippi State Bulldogs (2-10). Kentucky and Mississippi State were among the three SEC teams that did not make it to a bowl game.

Needless to say, that's a game Ole Miss would likely want to have back.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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