Paul Finebaum rips Notre Dame's reaction to missing CFP: 'Quite frankly embarrassing'

Miami Hurricanes beat out Notre Dame Fighting Irish for spot in College Football Playoff

The Fighting Irish did boast wins over No. 20 USC and No. 22 Pitt, but the Hurricanes tacked on wins over No. 18 South Florida, No. 18 Florida State, and No. 22 Pitt onto their resume next to the season-opening win over Notre Dame.

It was that head-to-head game that tipped the scales in the favor of Miami, though. In fact, the committee re-watched that game before making a decision.

"There was observation from the coaches in the room where Notre Dame did a lot of chasing of some of the athletic receivers, especially on the Miami side, and it just felt like there was a little bit more athleticism on the side of Miami versus Notre Dame," committee chair Hunter Yurachek said, per ESPN. "Then, the fact that Miami's defense really stifled Notre Dame's running game like nobody else did the entire season."

“My feelings and the feelings here are just shock and, really, an absolute sense of sadness for our student-athletes,” Bevacqua had told Yahoo Sports about an hour after the rankings reveal. “Overwhelming shock and sadness. Like a collective feeling that we were all just punched in the stomach.”

Notre Dame has always been proud of its independent status in the world of college football, but notably, Finebaum believes that had the Fighting Irish been a part of the ACC, for example, they wouldn't be in this predicament right now.

Essentially, it's a rare "self-own" from the prestigious university and college football program.

“And had they joined the ACC, which they, by the way, are a member of, in every other sport, they would have played for the ACC championship game, they would be in the playoff today, and they wouldn’t be a bunch of sniveling cry babies, and really, quite frankly, in my opinion, the laughing stock of college football," Finebaum said.