ESPN college football analyst Paul Finebaum certainly isn't happy with Indiana's national championship. It's three straight years of Big Ten teams winning the national title, after all. That means it's been four years since an SEC team won it all.
Finebaum went viral earlier this season, making a bold claim about Indiana coach Curt Cignetti. After the Hoosiers inked Cignetti to a massive contract extension amid the Penn State job opening up, Finebaum proclaimed that the school was making a mistake.
"Did Indiana make the right move with Cignetti?" Stephen A. Smith asked Finebaum on "First Take."
Finebaum replied: "They did not...I'm still not convinced that Curt Cignetti is one of the top coaches in America."
Is Finebaum buying it now, though?
He better be.
Wednesday night, the Voice of the SEC released a public apology, admitting that he was wrong about Cignetti and the Big Ten in general.
“There can be debate on whether Indiana had the best season in college football history, but there can be no debate, it is the greatest story in the history of the game,” Finebaum said. “What made it even more amazing is how people understood what Curt Cignetti was doing in Bloomington. Let me assure you, nobody was more incorrect in understanding that process than me. Almost everything I said throughout the season about him and about Indiana was wrong, and it was an epic failure on my part.”
He continued.
“There was no question Indiana was the best team, and yes, the Big Ten is the best conference in the country. We congratulate Coach Cignetti, Indiana and the Big Ten for an extraordinary run.”
It's a great show of character from Finebaum
It's easy for sports media personnel to just ignore the backlash they get - and the wrong predictions they made - and move forward as if it never happened.
But Finebaum is not doing that.
Instead, he's admitting - for the entire world to hear - that he was wrong. We need more of that in media - and life in general - today.
College football fans are appreciative.
"Don’t often hear an unequivocal apology like this from media personalities," Seth Davis wrote.
"Finebaum finally made his concession speech after a long campaign to disparage IU football. You can hear the pain in his voice as he utters these words," one fan added.
"An unpopular take in Big Ten country, but I love Finebaum. He’s not afraid to go out on a limb with hot takes or a play up his character, but he always owns up to it when he gets it wrong," another added.
Respect, Finebaum.