Michigan football championship won’t be ‘tainted’ by sign-stealing scandal

ESPN personality Paul Finebaum hasn’t shied away from sharing his mostly negative opinions on Michigan football this season.

However, following the Wolverines’ 27-20 overtime win vs. Alabama in the Rose Bowl on Monday, Finebaum reversed course, saying a potential Michigan national championship wouldn’t be tainted due to the team’s sign-stealing scandal. It resulted in a three-game suspension for coach Jim Harbaugh late in the regular season.

I don’t think so,” Finebaum said Tuesday on ESPN’s “Get Up!” show. “And I know what I said and I know what many others said. … College football right now, it is such a mess. And while a lot of us find what we believe the case to be here, to be repugnant, almost everything about college football right now is repugnant.

“So, I think Michigan, if they win, they’ll hoist the trophy. There’ll be haters out there, but most people I think are gonna go, ‘Congratulations, you are the best team.’”

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Finebaum has notably been one of Harbaugh’s harshest critics over the years. In 2020, Finebaum called for Harbaugh’s job after Michigan finished 2-4. Just a few weeks ago, Finebaum called Harbaugh a “dinosaur in a changing world.”

Finebaum also said Harbaugh out-coached Alabama coach Nick Saban in the Rose Bowl. Saban has won seven national championships with the Crimson Tide.

“He has answered every single critic,” Finebaum said on “Get Up” Tuesday. “And he outcoached Saban on the biggest stage in the sport.”

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Paul Finebaum: Michigan football championship would have no asterisk

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/paul-finebaum-michigan-football-championship-175723471.html

Author : Detroit Free Press

Publish date : 2024-01-02 17:57:23

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