Video taking off 16x its usual first day

Finebaum sees Kiffin "remorse" if LSU misses the playoff

ESPN College Football's fast-starting Short puts championship expectations up against viewers' arguments for giving a new coach time.

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ESPN College Football Story of November 10, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 116,099 views a day, 16 times a normal first day on this channel (7,421).

Paul Finebaum weighs in on Lane Kiffin and LSU 👀

A first-season grace period isn't part of Paul Finebaum's answer. Asked whether LSU should have buyer's remorse over Lane Kiffin if it misses the College Football Playoff, he says yes: "because he promised to bring a national championship to LSU."

The ESPN College Football Short reached roughly 80,000 views in its first 12 hours, already far beyond the channel's usual full-day audience for Shorts. Its comment section was also much busier than a typical first day, with the central question easy to recognize: how much patience should a new coach get?

Finebaum's criticism centers on LSU's loss to Alabama. He argues that Kiffin failed at critical decisions and contrasts that performance against Kalen DeBoer with former LSU coach Brian Kelly's home victory over Nick Saban's Alabama.

Then he turns to the celebrity appearances surrounding the program, naming Lil Wayne and Kevin Costner. "It's just the theatrics around this program," Finebaum says, pointing to guests and home supporters leaving before the finish.

Several commenters counter that Kiffin is only in his first season. Others ask whether LSU's talent makes immediate playoff expectations reasonable. That disagreement, rather than the celebrity names, gives the clip its substance.

The discussion also appears in ESPN College Football's longer First Take upload, alongside Stephen A. Smith and Dan Orlovsky, before the program moves into playoff expansion and Miami-Notre Dame debate.

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What viewers say

It’s only been one year
@louishenton3354See it on YouTube
I have already turned the page and focus my attention to LSU baseball...
@ivansalazar5448See it on YouTube
Shocking if they do not make playoffs with all that talent. I am very surprised
@JackT-nn8iySee it on YouTube

Public comments from the video's page on YouTube

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The facts

Channel: ESPN College Football
Subscribers: 1,430,000
Channel views, last 7 days: 23,116,111
Channel views, pace per day: 5,878,907 (on a normal day: 3,281,361)
Video published: November 9, 2026
Video views so far: 79,692 (less than a day online)
Video views, pace per day: 116,099

The numbers

The Finebaum Short passed the channel's usual first-day Shorts audience within its opening half-day. The longer First Take discussion also drew an unusually fast start.

the video's first day

usual first day here

7,421

this video

116,099

subscribers

1,430,000

no significant change in the last 7 days

total views

1,696,281,955

views per day

5,878,907