One program looked like its College Football Playoffs hopes would be dashed in Week 2. Fresh off a convincing 24-14 win on the road against Texas A&M in their season opener, Notre Dame came out flat at home against Northern Illinois.

Finebaum believes Friday night's Cotton Bowl winner—either Ohio State or Texas—will be favored to beat Notre Dame in Atlanta on Jan. 20. Even so, the fact that the Irish rebounded from one of the season's biggest upsets to win three CFP games and play for the national championship for the first time since '13 is remarkable.

Oklahoma Sooners fourth-year head coach Brent Venables is entering a make-or-break season in 2025. After two 6-7 seasons sandwiched around a 10-3 campaign, time is running out on his time in Norman. OU's first season in the Southeastern Conference was a disaster.

Under the leadership of Brent Venables, the Sooners entered a new era this season as they transitioned from the Big 12 to the SEC. Venables was hired in 2022 after Lincoln Riley left for the USC Trojans, with the goal of preparing the Sooners for this move. However, for the second time in his three seasons, Oklahoma finished with a losing record.

Penn State head coach James Franklin poked the bear on Wednesday when he suggested his opponent in Thursday night's College Football Playoff semifinal matchup, Notre Dame, should join a conference. "This is no knock to Notre Dame, but I think everyone should be in a conference," Franklin said. "Things need to be consistent."

James Franklin had a chance to exercise his demons on Thursday night and lead Penn State to the national championship game. Instead, he came up short when it mattered most.  With the Orange Bowl tied 24-24 late in the fourth quarter,

Paul Finebaum: "I led the Alabama parade to get them into the ... Alabama’s omission from the 12-team College Football Playoff field got fans riled up. The first-round blowouts didn’t exactly quiet the anger down. However, Alabama losing to an unranked ...

After the Penn State football team lost to Notre Dame, Paul Finebaum calls out James Franklin for unable to win big games.

Paul Finebaum did not hold back in his criticism of James Franklin after Penn State lost the CFP semifinal in heartbreaking fashion.

Paul Finebaum believes that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones may be interested in Texas coach Steve Sarkisian as a head coaching candidate.

It's Ohio State vs Texas in the College Football Playoff semifinal. Follow along for live score and game updates from the Cotton Bowl in Texas: